Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst was born on 2 May 1729 in Stettin, then part of Prussia (now Szczecin in Poland), the daughter of a minor German prince. In 1745, after being received ...

Catherine is intelligent, resourceful and utterly determined. She faces challenges on all sides, but everyone has underestimated the new Empress. Catherine has no interest in getting married again ...

For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment ... Upon her death in 1796, the empress' personal jewelry ...