Mary Hamilton (lady-in-waiting)

She became lady-in-waiting to Empress Catherine in 1713,[1] arousing attention with her beauty and love life, and became the lover of Peter the Great.

[1][2] When Orlov betrayed her with Peter's other lover, Avdotya Chernysheva, she tried to win him back by giving him items stolen from Catherine.

Avdotya Chernysheva accused Hamilton of spreading the rumour that Catherine ate wax to keep her skin pale.

In November 1718, Mary Hamilton was found guilty of abortion, murder of her infant, and theft of jewelry belonging to the Empress; she was sentenced to death.

[2] Some sources speculated that the head of Mary Hamilton after her execution was preserved at the Russian Academy of Science at least until the reign of Catherine the Great.