Page "Paul I of Russia" Paragraph 4

The Russian Imperial court, first of Elizabeth and then of Catherine, was not an ideal home for a lonely, needy and often sickly boy.

However, Catherine took great trouble to arrange his first marriage with Wilhelmina Louise ( who acquired the Russian name " Natalia Alexeievna "), one of the daughters of Ludwig IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, in 1773, and allowed him to attend the Council in order that he might be trained for his work as Emperor.

His tutor, Poroshin, complained that he was " always in a hurry ," acting and speaking without reflection.

There is no doubt that there was considerable pressure on the young Paul to be, and look, and act the part of a young Tsar and that his refusal or inability to do so concerned those in power.