Ekaterina Vladimirovna Apraksina

[1] The eldest daughter of prince Vladimir Borisovich Golitsyn and his wife Natalya, she was educated by her mother.

[2] In 1783 she and her family moved to France and they settled in a palace in Paris next door to Marie Antoinette, with Ekaterina and her mother attending balls and receptions.

She and her family toured England in 1789 before returning to Russia the following year, settling in St Petersburg, where she was presented at court and became a lady in waiting to Catherine the Great.

[3] Louisa Adams described her impressions of Ekaterina after this chance encounter, which took place at the home of their mutual acquaintance, Condesa Colombi.

By this time, Ekaterina and her husband lived primarily in Moscow, where the family dwelt in a palace, which reportedly could house 500 people.