Sophia Friederike Auguste Research Paper

On May 2, 1729 Sophia Friederike Auguste was born in Stettin, Prussia. Christian August, who was the prince of Stettin, Prussia was her father. Although he was a prince, he was better known as the general for Frederick William I of Prussia. Princess Johanna Elizabeth from Holstein-Gottorp was Sophia’s mother. She had a younger brother Wilhelm Christian, but unfortunately he died at 12 years old. Because of a lack of interest in her by her mother, Sophia would be cared for mostly by her governess Babette. Sophia would later become the empress of Russia in 1729 and would change her name to Catherine the Great. January 10, 1744 Sophia and her family would take their yearly trip to Berlin. However, this trip would prove to be much different than usual. Sophia’s parents hadn’t told her that there was a special reason for this particular trip. Sophia’s mother princess Johanna had been sent news from Russia. Empress Elizabeth wanted them to hurry to meet with her at the imperial court. King Frederick of Prussia had also sent word that there was a possibility that her daughter could marry Grand Duke Peter. Sophia and her mother met with King Frederick, Empress Elizabeth, and Peter. Everyone seemed very impressed with Sophia. Peter felt relaxed around her and enjoyed her company. Enough so that he divulged to her

Peter would then take the throne, and would be known as Peter III. Their marriage, however, didn’t get any better. It only continued to get worse. Not only was Peter proving to be a terrible husband, he also seemed to be a terrible ruler as well. He was succeeding in making many of his own people his enemies. His actions as an emperor had lost him the favor of many of the people in the court. Catherine had realized even before he became Emperor that in order to secure her future, she needed to get involved with politics. She began studying about government after the birth of her