Peter III of Russia Peter III of Russia Peter III ( – ) (, "Pyotr III Fyodorovich") was Emperor of Russia for six months in 1762. He was born in Kiel as Karl Peter Ulrich von Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp, the only child of Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (the son of Hedvig Sophia of Sweden, sister of Charles XII), and Anna Petrovna (the elder surviving daughter of Peter the Great). The German Peter could hardly speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy, which made him an unpopular leader. He was deposed and possibly assassinated as a result of a conspiracy led by his German wife,
Paul I of Russia Paul's son, the future Emperor Alexander I. It was not until 1787 that Catherine II may have in fact decided to exclude her son from succession. After Paul's sons Alexander and Constantine were born, she immediately had them placed under her charge, just as Elizabeth had done with Paul. That Catherine grew to favour Alexander as sovereign of Russia rather than Paul is unsurprising. She met secretly with Alexander’s tutor de La Harpe to discuss his pupil's ascension, and attempted to convince Maria, his mother, to sign a proposal authorizing her son's legitimacy. Both efforts proved fruitless, and though Alexander