Anna Petrovna is the second child of the great ruler Catherine II. Unrecognized by her father, Peter III, the girl was still the legitimate heiress of the princely family.
Anna's birth
Anna Petrovna, daughter of Catherine II, was born on December 9, 1757 at the Winter Residence in St. Petersburg, where the princely family was staying at that time. Immediately after the birth, Elizabeth, the aunt of Peter III, took the girl to her place, setting a ban on visiting her nephew and his wife. Elizabeth also gave the name to the child, naming the girl in honor of her sister Anna. At the same time, the girl's mother wanted her to bear the name Elizabeth.
In honor of the birth of Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna, a volley of cannon charges was fired in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Shots were fired exactly 101 times. Mikhail Lomonosov wrote an ode to the daughter of Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseevna on the occasion of her birth. Poetry was presented on behalf of the Academy of Sciences. The content conveyed in a fairly open form judgments about issues of peace and war, so that the ode later played a decisive role in intensifying the Seven Years' War.
Secret Baptism
Less than ten days later, on December 17, Anna Petrovna, daughter of Catherine II, was baptized in the Great Court Church. This process has goneabsolutely secretly: neither native girls nor courtiers were invited. Even Empress Elizabeth herself entered the church through a side door.
For the birth of a child, both parents were supposed to pay 60 thousand rubles each. The money was paid according to the order of Empress Elizabeth. Peter III rejoiced at the money paid, arranging a holiday and inviting courtiers and representatives of other powers. He received a lot of congratulations related to the birth of his daughter.
Ekaterina II herself could not be happy with money or even the birth of a child. She could not see either the newborn Anna, or the grown-up Pavel, her first son. They remained in the care of her husband's aunt, were brought up by dozens of teachers and mentors, but carefully hid from visiting their parents. The mother could only see her children with the permission of Elizabeth, who rarely allowed this to happen.
Princess Catherine was left alone during the celebrations on the occasion of the birth of Anna. The empress, having assured the court that the newly-made mother needed rest and recovery, did not allow anyone to visit her. So, the woman received congratulations from the courtiers through third parties, lying in bed.
During the baptism, Anna Petrovna was awarded the Order of St. Catherine.
Paternity question
Anna Petrovna, daughter of Catherine II, was recognized as the legitimate daughter of a princely couple. But at the same time, Peter III did not consider the girl his child, saying that his wife "does not know where she takes the pregnancy from." At court they knew about doubtsprince, which he did not hide too much.
Even during pregnancy, Peter III was angry with his wife, sharing his dissatisfaction with the court chief horsemaster Lev Naryshkin. He passed on everything said to Catherine II, who was afraid of such speeches.
The real father of Anna Petrovna for a long time was considered the future Polish king Stanislav Poniatowski, who had connections with the princess. He stayed in St. Petersburg for about a year as the ambassador of Saxony. Shortly before the birth, Poniatowski was sent to Poland, from where he never returned to Catherine II.
Nevertheless, historians are not inclined to agree on who Anna's biological father was. The task was also complicated by the sudden death of the child, which came very early.
The death of Anna Petrovna
The young princess did not live more than a year and died in infancy. The cause of death was given as a rare disease today - smallpox. In 1759, Anna Petrovna, daughter of Catherine II, died, leaving her mother to grieve. The death of the child had a very strong impact on the princess, who never had time to see the girl grow up.
Anna was buried in the tomb of the Church of the Annunciation in St. Petersburg. Other members of the imperial family, as well as many public figures, diplomats and politicians, found their last refuge here. On March 9, a manifesto was released to the people on the death of the Grand Duchess, and on March 10, a funeral commission was created. The official date of death is March 8, 1759.
SoThus, Anna Petrovna, having died at an early age, did not have time to accomplish any significant events. But issues related to her birth were reflected in the history of the Russian Empire until the last day.
