In 1745, after being received into the Russian Orthodox Church, and changing her name to Catherine, she married Grand Duke Peter, grandson of Peter the Great and heir to the Russian throne.

The longest-serving female ruler in Russian history and one of the most significant monarchs of modern Europe, Catherine is responsible for a huge expansion of the Russian Empire, including the ...

marking the start of Catherine’s misfortune. While there was great celebration over the birth of Catherine's second child, Prince Henry, in 1511, this male heir died soon after. In all she bore ...

Catherine the Great moved to a foreign land as a teenager and became one of the most important leaders in history. Known for her long and prosperous reign over the Russian Empire, the empress ...

Historians consider Catherine Walters, who later became better known as “Skittles," one of the last great courtesans of Victorian London. But there was much more to this complex woman than the ...