Catherine I: From Orphan to Empress

The life of Empress Catherine I of Russia could easily be confused with something out of a fairy tale.

The future queen was born in 1684 into a family of Lithuanian peasants, and was orphaned

at the age of 3 after both her parents died from the plague. Taken in by a pastor, she spent her youth

as a housemaid in Marienburg in modern day Latvia. After Russia conquered the city in 1702,

18-year-old Catherine was captured and taken to Moscow. She became a servant in the home of a

high-ranking government official, and it was there that she met the Russian Emperor

Peter the Great. Despite being uneducated and illiterate, Catherine charmed the emperor with

her beauty and wit, and the two soon began a passionate affair. The couple married