In 1772, Tsarevich Pavel Petrovich of Russia was 18-years-old, and his mother, Empress Catherine II, began the search for a bride for him. After a long search, two candidates remained: Sophia Dorothea of Württemberg and Wilhelmina. But Sophia Dorothea was just 13-years-old, and Catherine II urgently needed an heir, so the Empress was forced to opt for one of the remaining three unmarried daughters of the Landgrave; however, this option did not please her. In a letter to her envoy, she wrote: