Russian Royalty. In an arranged marriage, Catherine II of Russia chose Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt, the 5th of nine children of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken, to be the bride of her son, Paul I. The bride's older sister, Frederika Louisa, was already married to the Crown Prince of Prussia. Wilhelmina was distinguished by an outstanding mind, strong character and ardent temperament. On August 15, 1773 she acquired the Russian name "Natalia Alexeievna". September 29, 1773 the couple were married. She had a powerful personality that reigned over her husband, who loved her dearly. She did not speak Russian and questioned why the peasants did not have freedom. After two years of marriage, she became pregnant. She had a complicated 5-day hard labor, only to die with an infection on April 15, 1776, after giving birth to a stillborn son. Her widower was brokenhearted. On October 7, 1776, less than six months after her death , Paul married again with the encouragement of his mother. Letters written during her time in Russia by her to her parents and other family members are located at the Hessian State Archive in Darmstadt.
Russian Royalty. In an arranged marriage, Catherine II of Russia chose Princess Wilhelmina of Hesse-Darmstadt, the 5th of nine children of Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt and Caroline of the Palatinate-Zweibrücken, to be the bride of her son, Paul I. The bride's older sister, Frederika Louisa, was already married to the Crown Prince of Prussia. Wilhelmina was distinguished by an outstanding mind, strong character and ardent temperament. On August 15, 1773 she acquired the Russian name "Natalia Alexeievna". September 29, 1773 the couple were married. She had a powerful personality that reigned over her husband, who loved her dearly. She did not speak Russian and questioned why the peasants did not have freedom. After two years of marriage, she became pregnant. She had a complicated 5-day hard labor, only to die with an infection on April 15, 1776, after giving birth to a stillborn son. Her widower was brokenhearted. On October 7, 1776, less than six months after her death , Paul married again with the encouragement of his mother. Letters written during her time in Russia by her to her parents and other family members are located at the Hessian State Archive in Darmstadt.
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