, house =

Oldenburg Oldenburg may also refer to: Places *Mount Oldenburg, Ellsworth Land, Antarctica *Oldenburg (city), an independent city in Lower Saxony, Germany **Oldenburg (district), a district historically in Oldenburg Free State and now in Lower Saxony *Olde ...

, father = Peter I, Duke of Oldenburg , mother =

Duchess Frederica of Württemberg , house =Württemberg , father =Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg , mother =Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt , birth_date = , birth_place =Treptow an der Rega, Province of P ...

, birth_date = , birth_place =

, Duchy of Oldenburg , death_date = , death_place =

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 Russian ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

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 and his wife

. 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 of Russia, Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he w ...

through marriage to his daughter Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia. 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

, a daughter of Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg. 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 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 for his incapacitated cousin

William, Duke of Oldenburg , image = , caption = , reign = 6 July 1785 –2 July 1823 , succession = Duke of Oldenburg , predecessor = Frederick Augustus I , successor = Peter I , spouse = , issue = , house ...

. 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 Decemb ...

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 b ...

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 the ...

. 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 troops, George was sent to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

to stay with his relatives, the Russian Imperial family. 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, a ...

Marriage

Catherine Pavlovna by Johann Gotthard Müller

On 3 August 1809, George married Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, 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 of ...

.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 who ...

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

, 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,

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 who ...

. 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 several ...

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