About
Queen of the Netherlands by marriage to King Willem II of the Netherlands. They had a lavish wedding ceremony in February 1816 at the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. They became King and Queen in 1840 when Willem I abdicated. She funded many social causes, including schools for girls, hospitals for wounded soldiers, and more than 50 orphanages.
Before fame
At age 14, Napoleon Bonaparte requested her hand in marriage. Her mother delayed her reply and Napoleon lost interest.
Trivia
It was a condition of her marriage to Willem that she keep her Russian Orthodox faith. She remained devout her entire life, and had her own chapels at her palaces. After her death, she was memorialised in a traditional Russian Orthodox service.
Family life
Her father was Russian tsar Paul I. When her father was murdered, her oldest brother Alexander I became the tsar. She and her husband had three sons and a daughter. A fourth son died when he was young.
Associated with
She was King Charles III's great-great-great-grand-aunt.
