Duke Peter Frederick George of Oldenburg (german: link=no, Herzog Peter Friedrich Georg von Oldenburg; 9 May 1784 – 27 December 1812) was a younger son of

Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg Peter I or Peter Frederick Louis of Holstein-Gottorp (german: Peter Friedrich Ludwig von Holstein-Gottorp) (17 January 1755 – 21 May 1829) was the Regent of the Duchy of Oldenburg for his incapacitated cousin William I from 1785 to 1823, and ...

and his wife Duchess Frederica of Württemberg. He was a son-in-law of

Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...

through marriage to his daughter

Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (russian: Екатерина Павловна; 21 May 1788 S 10 May 1788– 9 January 1819) later Queen Catharina Pavlovna of Württemberg, was the fourth daughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia and Du ...

. He was referred to as a prince in Russia, Prince Georgy Petrovich Oldenburgsky.

Birth and family

Grand PrinceAugust Oldenburg and Prince GeorgofOldenburg

George was born on 9 May 1784 to the then Prince Peter Frederick Louis of Holstein-Gottorp and his wife Duchess Frederica of Württemberg, a daughter of

Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg (21 January 1732 – 23 December 1797) was the fourth son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis (11 August 1706 – 1 February 1756). He was born in Stut ...

. George had an elder brother, Duke Augustus of Oldenburg, who was one year older than him. In 1785, when George was one year old, his mother died from childbirth. His father never remarried.

Early life

In 1785, when George was one year old, his father became Prince-Bishop of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...

and was furthermore appointed

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

Duchy of Oldenburg The Duchy of Oldenburg (german: Herzogtum Oldenburg)—named after its capital, the town of Oldenburg—was a state in the north-west of present-day Germany. The counts of Oldenburg died out in 1667, after which it became a duchy until 1810, w ...

for his incapacitated cousin William, Duke of Oldenburg. From 1788 to 1803, George and his brother were educated at home under the supervision of their father. Together, the two princes studied at the

University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...

from 1803 to 1805. From 1805 to 1807 they travelled extensively in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. In the start of 1808, when Oldenburg was occupied by

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

troops, George was sent to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

to stay with his relatives, the

Russian Imperial family The House of Romanov (also transcribed Romanoff; rus, Романовы, Románovy, rɐˈmanəvɨ) was the reigning imperial house of Russia from 1613 to 1917. They achieved prominence after the Tsarina, Anastasia Romanova, was married to t ...

. Upon his arrival, he was appointed

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...

Marriage

Catherine Pavlovna by Johann Gotthard Müller

On 3 August 1809, George married

, the fourth daughter of

and

Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess of ...

and favorite sister of the Emperor

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

.Seton-Watson, p. 121. The events behind their marriage began when

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

, hoping to secure a Russian alliance as well as a male heir, hinted his desire to marry Catherine after finalizing his divorce with

Empress Joséphine Joséphine Bonaparte (, born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie; 23 June 1763 – 29 May 1814) was Empress of the French as the first wife of Emperor Napoleon I from 18 May 1804 until their marriage was annulled on 10 January 1810 ...

. This so horrified the Russian imperial family that Catherine's mother immediately arranged her marriage to her cousin, Duke George. The day the marriage occurred, Duke George received the style ''

Imperial Highness His/Her Imperial Highness (abbreviation HIH) is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote ''imperial'' – as opposed to ''royal'' – status to show that the holder in question is descended from an emperor rather than a king ( ...

'' and was appointed the governor-general of the three central provinces of

Tver Tver ( rus, Тверь, p=tvʲerʲ) is a city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is northwest of Moscow. Population: Tver was formerly the capital of a powerful medieval state and a model provincial town in the Russi ...

, Yaroslavl and Novgorod. Though their marriage was arranged, it was happy. Catherine was considered beautiful and vivacious and was devoted to her husband. As George was a younger son with little prospects of inheriting the Grand Dukedom of Oldenburg, he and Catherine lived in

, Russia. Their family adopted the use of Russian patronyms and were known as the ''Oldenburgsky''. They had two sons: * Duke Peter Georg Paul ''Alexander'' of Oldenburg (30 August 1810 – 16 November 1829) * Duke Konstantin Friedrich ''Peter'' of Oldenburg (26 August 1812 – 14 May 1881)

Later life

On 22 January 1811, Oldenburg was annexed by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

. As George was married to Tsar Alexander I's sister, the Russians considered Napoleon's move a great insult, and it was one of many grievances Alexander would bring up in their correspondence. The Oldenburg family was later given back their duchy after Napoleon's defeat. He was appointed governor on the Volga but died from

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...

in 1812. His death was a great blow to his wife, but she would go on to marry the future

William I of Württemberg William I (german: Friedrich Wilhelm Karl; 27 September 178125 June 1864) was King of Württemberg from 30 October 1816 until his death. Upon William's accession, Württemberg was suffering crop failures and famine in the "Year Without a Summer", ...

in 1816. After her death in 1819, their children were raised by George's brother Grand Duke Augustus in Oldenburg.ADB, p. 669.

Ancestry

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:George, Duke Of Oldenburg 1784 births 1812 deaths Dukes of Oldenburg Deaths from typhoid fever Sons of monarchs