EMPEROR PETR III

Petr III Fyodorovich (1728 - 1762) - Emperor from 1761 to 1762. Son of Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, Carl Friedrich, and Crown Princess Anna Petrovna (1708-1728), grandson of Emperor Petr I (1672 - 1725). Prior to converting to Russian Orthodoxy, bore the name of Carl-Peter-Ulrich. Founder of the Holstein-Gottorp line of the Romanov House, which held the Russian throne until 1917. Married to Princess Sophia Friederica Augusta of Anhalt-Zerbst (1729-1796), who received the name of Ekaterina Alexeevna (later Empress Catherine II) upon conversion to Russian Orthodoxy. From the marriage with Ekaterina Alexeevna had two children: a son, Paul (1754- 1801; the future Emperor Paul I), and a daughter, who died in childhood. Dethroned and assassinated in 1762 by his own wife, Ekaterina Alexeevna, as the result of a power struggle in the court. During the short reign of Petr III, Tzarskoje Selo underwent no major changes.