Catherine of Oldenburg

Duchess Catherine Frederica Paulina ; (9 September 1846 - 11 June 1866) was the daughter of Duke Peter of Oldenburg and Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg, and a great-granddaughter of Paul I of Russia.^[1]

Catherine Frederica Paulina was born in St. Petersburg on 9 September 1846 as the 5th child and 3rd daughter of Duke Peter of Oldenburg and Princess Therese of Nassau-Weilburg. Through her father she was a granddaughter of Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia and a great-granddaughter of Tsar Paul I of Russia. Through her mother she was a first cousin of Elisabeth of Wied, the first Queen of Romania.^[1]

Empress Maria Alexandrovna wanted to marry her oldest son Nicholas Alexandrovich to a second cousin. The marriage negotiations lasted for a long time and the Empress wanted to move Catherine into her palace, however the plans were stopped by her mother who couldn't stand the Empress.^[1]

According to the memoirs of Count Sergei Dmitrievich Sheremetev, a friend of hers, the relationship between Catherine and her mother was not distinguished by tender feelings or sincerity.^[2][3]

In 1866 she developed consumption as a result of a cold after suffering from the measles. The doctors prescribed a mild climate for her and was therefore taken to Venice by her father, however it did nothing to restore her health. She died on 11 June in Römerbad, a Spa in Styria, Austria. Her body was transported back to Russia and she was buried in the Oldenburg family tomb in the St. Sergius Primorsky Hermitage in Strelna.^[1]

• Мемуары графа С. Д. Шереметева: Т. 1. — 2004. — 736 с. — ISBN 5-85759-131-7
• И. Б. Чижова. Давно замолкшие слова. — 2006. — ISBN 5-699-15795-6. («Возлюбленный образ, с душой неразлучный»)
• Э. Анненкова. Принцессы Ольденбургские. — Москва: Издательский Дом ТОНЧУ, 2014. — 784 с.