Among the Russian monarchs, there is no one who can be compared with Peter 1 in terms of the scale of the reforms he carried out and the importance of their results for strengthening the role of our country in the international political arena. And although the personal lives of rulers throughout the history of mankind have always been in sight, often their offspring, especially those of them who could not claim the throne or never found themselves on it, died in obscurity. So who were the descendants of Peter 1 and what do we know about them.
Tsarevich Alexei
In 1689, Peter 1 married Evdokia Lopukhina. From this marriage a year later he had a son - Tsarevich Alexei, who until 1718 was considered the heir to the Russian throne. From early childhood, the boy did not feel the love of his father, who transferred his negative attitude towards his unwanted and imposed wife to his son. However, after Peter 1 sent Tsarina Evdokia to the monastery,he forbade Alexei to visit his mother, from which he suffered greatly and held a grudge against his father. Over time, this feeling grew into hatred, and the young man turned into a toy in the hands of the opponents of the king. Moreover, after his stepmother - Catherine - gave birth to a son almost simultaneously with his wife, who gave birth to the emperor's first grandson (the future Peter 2), Alexei was given to understand that he was superfluous and the emperor now has an heir from his beloved woman, with whom he associates all your hopes. After that, the prince, who was very afraid that he might be killed, wrote a letter to his father. In it, he renounced the throne and expressed a desire to enter a monastery.
However, he never carried out this intention, but instead fled to Vienna, asking for the patronage of Emperor Charles 6. As a result of great efforts made by the famous Russian diplomat P. Tolstoy, Alexei was returned to Russia and put on trial, as a traitor who plotted to arrange a rebellion with the aim of overthrowing Peter 1. The prince died on June 26, 1718 in the Peter and Paul Fortress from a blow. At least, that was the official version of the reasons for his death.
Alexander Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich
The second offspring of the first Russian emperor from his marriage to Lopukhina was Alexander Petrovich, who was born in 1691 and died at the age of 7 months. In addition, some sources attributed to Peter 1 another son from Empress Evdokia - Paul. However, no documentary evidence of this was found.
Thus, it can be argued that the direct descendants of Peter 1 from marriage withLopukhina are Alexey and Pavel, as well as grandchildren Natalya Alekseevna (1714-178) and Pyotr Alekseevich (1715-1730).
Ekaterina Petrovna
Before finding out how many children Peter 1 had in general, it must be said that in 1703 Peter 1 had a new mistress, Marta Skavronskaya. Three years after their meeting, this new royal favorite bore him an illegitimate daughter, Catherine. The girl lived only a year and a half and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Anna Petrovna
5 years after the birth of her first child, Martha again gave birth to an illegitimate girl, who was named Anna. In 1711, a year before the marriage of her parents, she, contrary to all customs, was declared a princess, and in 1721 - a princess. When the girl grew up, she was married at the age of 17 to Duke Karl-Friedrich of Holstein, from whom she gave birth to a son, Karl Peter Ulrich, in 1728. This boy was the grandson of Peter 1. And although he had never been to his mother’s homeland until the age of 13, he was destined to take the throne of the Russian Empire in the future under the name of Peter 3.
Elizabeth
In 1709, Peter again had a daughter, who was named Elizabeth, and after 2 years she was declared a princess. This girl, who never married, failed to continue the Romanov family, but becoming Empress Elizabeth 1, she was able to do a lot to strengthen the reforms of her great father.
Children of Peter the Great, born between 1713-1719
After birthPrincess Elizabeth, Empress Catherine 5 more times became the mother of royal offspring. In particular, between 1713 and 1719, the couple had Natalya the Elder, Peter, Pavel, Margarita and Natalya the Younger. All of them died in infancy. The last daughter of the emperor lived longer than others, who died of measles a month after the death of her father.
Grandchildren of Peter 1
As already mentioned, only three of the children of this monarch survived to adulthood: Alexei, Anna and Elizabeth. Moreover, his son, who died in prison, left behind two kids. As for the princesses, Anna died after giving birth to a boy, and Elizabeth had no offspring. Thus, the grandchildren of Peter 1 are the children of Alexei - Natalya, born in 1714, and Peter (born 1715), as well as Karl Peter Ulrich. And if the only granddaughter of the first Russian emperor lived to the age of 14 and did not show herself in any way, then both boys each occupied the Russian throne at one time.
Peter Alekseevich
The son of Tsarevich Alexei from Charlotte-Sophia of Brunswick was born in 1715. The boy was named after his grandfather Peter, and he and his sister became complete orphans in 1718. After the death of the last son of the emperor, these children were brought closer to the court. The fact is that the grandson of Peter 1 - Peter 2, at that time turned out to be the only male representative of the Romanov dynasty, except for the monarch himself. As you know, after the death of the emperor, Catherine 1 ascended the throne, having reigned for only two years.
Although many courtiers sought to imprisonthe throne of one of the princesses, by the labors of A. Menshikov, Peter 2 became emperor in May 1727. The boy at that time was only 11 years old, and already at such an early age he was addicted to alcohol. Thus, the children of Peter 1, who were alive at that time - Anna and Elizabeth, were out of work.
But the young emperor did not actually have any power, since all affairs in the country were first managed by A. Menshikov. After his arrest in 1727, the boyars began to rule the Russian Empire again, displacing the associates of Peter 1. In particular, Ivan Dolgoruky began to exert increasing influence on the young emperor, who even persuaded him to become engaged to his sister. However, the wedding never took place, since Peter 2 died on the night of January 19, 1730. Being at that time a teenager only 14 years old, he left no heirs, and after him the descendants of Peter 1 were no longer Romanovs, since from ancient times in Russia the surname was passed from father to son only through the male line.
Karl Peter Ulrich
Already by 1730, almost all direct descendants of Peter 1 were dead. Only Tsarina Elizabeth and two-year-old Karl Peter Ulrich survived, the only son of her sister Anna, who had died two years earlier. The fate of this boy was even more tragic than that of his cousin, who reigned for only three years. The fact is that having lost his mother immediately after birth, at the age of 11 he lost his father. Then his uncle, the future king of Sweden Adolf Frederick, took care of his upbringing. The teachers assigned to the child treated him very badly and often humiliated him. Karl's life changed dramatically when he was 14 years old, since in 1742 the childless Empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered that her nephew be brought to St. Petersburg and declared him her heir. By order of the royal aunt, he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Peter Fedorovich, and 3 years later he was married to the princess of Anh alt-Zerbst. All the efforts of Elizabeth to raise a statesman from her nephew, to whom she could leave her father's throne with a pure heart, failed, and she was forced to admit that this young man would never become a worthy sovereign. From the marriage with Catherine, Pyotr Fedorovich had a son, Pavel, who is officially considered the first great-grandson of Peter. However, many historians doubt that this child by blood had anything to do with the Romanovs. Having ascended the throne in 1761 as Peter 3, Karl Peter Ulrich reigned for only 1 year and was overthrown by his wife Catherine as a result of a palace coup.
Now you know how many children Peter 1 had and what fate was in store for his grandchildren.
