Duke George of Oldenburg

Duke George
Duke George of Oldenburg
Spouse	Catherine Pavlovna of Russia
Issue
Duke Peter Georg of Oldenburg Duke Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg
Full name
German: Peter Friedrich Georg
House	House of Oldenburg
Father	Peter I, Duke of Oldenburg
Mother	Frederica of Württemberg
Born	9 May 1784(1784-05-09) Oldenburg
Died	27 December 1812(1812-12-27) (aged 28) Tver

Duke George of Oldenburg (9 May 1784 – 27 December 1812) was a younger son of Peter I, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and his wife Duchess Frederica of Württemberg. He was a son-in-law of Paul I of Russia through marriage to his daughter Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia. He was referred to as a prince in Russia, Prince Georgy Petrovich Oldenburgsky.

Life

Marriage

Duke George and his brother Duke Augustus, 1790s

George's wife Catherine, 1817.

On 3 August 1809, George married Grand Duchess Catherine Pavlovna of Russia, the fourth daughter of Paul I of Russia and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg and favorite sister of the Emperor Alexander I of Russia.^[1] The events behind their marriage began when Napoleon Bonaparte, 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.^[1] 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 Tver, Yaroslavl and Novgorod.^[1]

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 Tver, Russia. Their family adopted the use of Russian patronyms and were known as the Oldenburgsky. He was appointed governor on the Volga but died six months after the birth of their second child.

They had two sons:

• Peter Georg Paul Alexander Georgievich of Oldenburg (30 August 1810 – 16 November 1829)
• Konstantin Friedrich Peter Georgievich of Oldenburg (26 August 1812 – 14 May 1881)

War

On 22 January 1811, Oldenburg was annexed by Napoleon. As George was married to Tsar Alexander I's sister, this was a great insult by Napoleon to the Russians, and was one of many grievances Alexander would bring up in their correspondence.^[2] The Oldenburg family was later given back their duchy after Napoleon's defeat.

In 1812, Georg died from typhoid fever. His death was a great blow to his wife, but she would go on to marry the future William I of Württemberg in 1816.

Titles, styles, honours and arms

Titles and styles

• 9 May 1784 – 3 August 1809: His Highness Duke George of Oldenburg
• 3 August 1809 – 27 December 1812: His Imperial Highness Duke George of Oldenburg (Prince Georgy Petrovich Oldenburgsky)

Ancestry

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Seton-Watson, p. 121.
2. ^ Grab, p. 198.

Sources

• Grab, Alexander I. (2003). Napoleon and the Transformation of Europe. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 0333682742. 
• Seton-Watson, Hugh (1988). The Russian Empire, 1801-1917. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198221525. 

Persondata
Name	George, Duke Of Oldenburg
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	9 May 1784
Place of birth	Oldenburg
Date of death	27 December 1812
Place of death	Tver