There is no one among the Russian monarchs who can be compared with Peter the Great in terms of the scale of his reforms and the importance of their results in strengthening the role of our country in the international political arena. And although the personal life of rulers throughout the history of mankind has always been in sight, often their offspring, especially those who could not claim the throne or never found themselves on it, died in obscurity. So who were the descendants of Peter 1 and what do we know about them.
Tsarevich Alexey
In 1689, Peter 1 married Evdokia Lopukhina. From this marriage, a year later, his son was born - Tsarevich Alexei, who until 1718 was considered the heir to the Russian throne. From early childhood, the boy did not feel the love of his father, who transferred his negative attitude to his unwanted and imposed wife to his son. However, after Peter 1 sent Tsarina Evdokia to the monastery, he forbade Alexei to visit his mother, from which he suffered very much and harbored anger at his father. Over time, this feeling grew into hatred, and the young man turned into a toy in the hands of the opponents of the king. Moreover, after his stepmother - Catherine - gave birth to a son almost simultaneously with his wife, who gave birth to the emperor's first grandson (future Peter 2), Alexei was made clear that he was superfluous and the emperor now has an heir from his beloved woman with whom he associates all my hopes. After that, the prince, who was very afraid that he might be killed, wrote a letter to his father. In it, he refused the throne and expressed a desire to leave for the monastery.
However, he did not fulfill this intention, but instead fled to Vienna to ask for the patronage of Emperor Charles 6. As a result of the great efforts made by the famous Russian diplomat P. Tolstoy, Alexei was able to be returned to Russia and put on trial as a traitor who intended to arrange rebellion with the goal of overthrowing Peter 1. The prince died on June 26, 1718, in the Peter and Paul Fortress from the blow. At least that was the official version of the causes of his death.
Alexander Petrovich and Pavel Petrovich
The second offspring of the first Russian emperor from marriage with Lopukhina was Alexander Petrovich who was born in 1691 and died at the age of 7 months. In addition, some sources attributed to Peter 1 another son from Tsarina Evdokia - Paul. However, no documentary evidence of this was found.
Thus, it can be argued that the direct descendants of Peter 1 from marriage to Lopukhina are Alexey and Pavel, as well as the grandchildren Natalya Alekseevna (1714-178) and Peter Alekseevich (1715-1730).
Ekaterina Petrovna
Before finding out how many children Peter 1 had in general, it must be said that in 1703 Peter 1 had a new mistress, Martha Skavronskaya. Three years after their meeting, this new royal favorite gave birth to his illegitimate daughter - Catherine. The girl lived only a year and a half and was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral.
Anna Petrovna
5 years after the birth of her first child, Marta again gave birth to an illegitimate girl, who was named Anna. In 1711, the year before the marriage of her parents, she, contrary to all customs, was declared princess, and in 1721 - princess. When the girl grew up, she was married at the age of 17 to the Duke Karl-Friedrich of Holstein, from whom she gave birth to Karl's son Peter Ulrich in 1728. This boy was the grandson of Peter 1. And although he was never in his mother’s homeland until the age of 13, he was destined to take the throne of the Russian Empire in the future under the name of Peter 3.
Elizabeth
In 1709, Peter again had a daughter, who was named Elizabeth, and after 2 years they declared the princess. This girl, who never married, was not able to continue the Romanov family, but after becoming Empress Elizabeth 1, she was able to do much to strengthen the reforms of her great father.
Children of Peter 1, born between 1713-1719 years
After the birth of Tsarevna Elizabeth, Empress Catherine 5 more times became the mother of royal offspring. In particular, between 1713 and 1719, the couple gave birth to Natalia Elder, Petr, Pavel, Margarita and Natalya the Younger. They all died in infancy. The emperor’s last daughter lived longer than others, who died of measles a month after her father’s death.
Grandchildren of Peter 1
As already mentioned, only three of the children of this monarch survived to adulthood: Alexei, Anna and Elizabeth. Moreover, his son, who died in prison, left behind two children. As for the princes, Anna died after giving birth to a boy, and Elizabeth did not have any offspring. Thus, the grandchildren of Peter 1 are the children of Alexei - Natalia, born in 1714, and Peter (born 1715), as well as Karl Peter Ulrich. And if the only granddaughter of the first Russian emperor lived up to 14 years and did not show herself, then both boys each at one time occupied the Russian throne.
Peter Alekseevich
The son of Tsarevich Alexei from Charlotte-Sophia of Braunschweig was born in 1715. The boy was named in honor of his grandfather Peter, and he and his sister became complete orphans in 1718. After the last son of the emperor died, these children were brought closer to the court. The fact is that the grandson of Peter 1 - Peter 2, at that time was the only male representative of the Romanov dynasty, except for the monarch himself. As you know, after the death of the emperor, Catherine 1 ascended the throne, having reigned only two years.
Although many courtiers sought to put one of the princesses on the throne, in the works of A. Menshikov in May 1727 Peter 2 became emperor. The boy at that time was only 11 years old, and at such an early age he was addicted to alcohol. Thus, the children of Peter 1, alive at that time, Anna and Elizabeth, were out of work.
But the young emperor did not actually have any power, since all affairs in the country were first handled by A. Menshikov. After his arrest in 1727, the Russian empire was again ruled by the boyars who had replaced the associates of Peter 1. In particular, Ivan Dolgoruky, who even persuaded him to get engaged to his sister, began to exert greater influence on the young emperor. However, the wedding never took place, as Peter 2 died on the night of January 19, 1730. Being at that time a teenager only 14 years old, he did not leave any heirs, and after him the descendants of Peter 1 were no longer the Romanovs, since since ancient times in Russia the surname was passed from father to son only along the male line.
Karl Peter Ulrich
By 1730, almost all direct descendants of Peter the Great were dead. Only Tsarevna Elizabeth and two-year-old Karl Peter Ulrich, the only son of her sister Anna, who died two years before, survived. The fate of this boy was even more tragic than that of his cousin, who had reigned for only three years. The fact is that having lost his mother immediately after birth, at the age of 11 he lost his father. Then his uncle, the future king of Sweden Adolf Frederick, took care of his upbringing. The teachers assigned to the child treated him very badly and often humiliated him. Karl's life changed dramatically when he was 14 years old, since in 1742 the childless empress Elizaveta Petrovna ordered her nephew to be brought to St. Petersburg and declared him his heir. By order of the royal aunt, he converted to Orthodoxy and received the name Peter Fedorovich, and after 3 years he was married to the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. All the efforts of Elizabeth to raise from the nephew of the statesman, whom she could leave the throne of her father with a pure heart, failed, and she was forced to admit that this young man would never become a worthy sovereign. From the marriage with Catherine, Peter Fedorovich had a son, Pavel, who is officially considered the first great-grandson of Peter. However, many historians doubt that this child had any relation to the Romanovs by blood. Having ascended the throne in 1761, like Peter 3, Karl Peter Ulrich reigned for only 1 year and was overthrown by his wife Catherine as a result of a palace coup.
Now you know how many children Peter 1 has and what fate was destined for his grandchildren.