For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment. The formidable Russian empress — who reigned from 1762 to 1796 after overthrowing her own husband, Peter III — understood ...

This very much matched Catherine’s intellectual prowess, and the two women often discussed new ideas. The great blight on Dashkova’s adolescent life was her polar opposite older sister ...

In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

Taken from Catherine at birth and raised by his great aunt, Empress Elizabeth, and tutor, Minister Panin, Paul never formed a loving relationship with Catherine. The brutal, conniving and ambitious ...

marking the start of Catherine’s misfortune. While there was great celebration over the birth of Catherine's second child, Prince Henry, in 1511, this male heir died soon after. In all she bore ...