But Sophia Dorothea was just 13-years-old, and Catherine II urgently needed an heir, so the Empress was forced to opt for one of the remaining three unmarried daughters of the Landgrave; however, this option did not please her.

This, in combination with the mind of her sovereign-father and with the large number of sisters and brothers, some of whom are already married, and some of whom are still waiting to be betrothed to royalty, prompts me in this regard toward caution.

In October 1772, Catherine wrote to Nikita Ivanovich Panin: The Landgravine, thank God, has three more daughters for marriage; ask her to come here with all them; we will be very unhappy if we don't choose one of the three that are suitable for us.

Catherine wrote: ...My son from the first minute fell in love with princess Wilhelmine, I gave him three days to see if he wоuld waver, and since this princess is superior in all aspects to her sisters...the eldest is very meek; the youngest seems to be very clever; the middle one has all the qualities we have hoped for: her face is charming, the features are correct, she is gentle, smart; I am very pleased with her, and my son is in love...On 27 June 1773 the Landgravine of Hesse-Darmstadt and her three daughters were awarded with the Order of Saint Catherine.

Almost one month later, on 15 August, Princess Wilhelmina was accepted in the Orthodox faith with the name and title of Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna, and the next day her betrothal with the Tsarevich Paul took place amidst great ostentation.

On 29 September 1773, the wedding between Tsarevich Paul Petrovich and Natalia Alexeievna took place in the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos (currently Kazan Cathedral).

Her many debts are twice bigger than the biggest fortunes in the country, and hardly anyone in Europe gets so much.Despite the fact that the Tsarevna wasn't in love with her husband, she used her influence over him and tried to keep him away from everyone except for a narrow circle of her friends.

Rumours of her affair with the charming Andrey Razumovsky aroused doubts about the real paternity of the child; however, for Catherine II didn't seem to care if was her son's or Andrei's.

Keep this up to yourself"....[1]After five days of agonizing distress on 15 April at 5 a.m., Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna ultimately died after giving birth to a stillborn son.

The autopsy, however, showed that the Grand Duchess had a birth defect called spinal curvature (scoliosis),[3] and reportedly in childhood she suffered from a hunchback or stoop, which was corrected, according to the custom of that time, with a rigid corset, which led to an incorrect arrangement of the bones in such way that could be impossible for Natalia to have a baby naturally through the birth canal, and that the medicine of that time was powerless to help her.

The Chevalier de Corberon reported that no one believed the official autopsy and that Potemkin —following Catherine II's orders— visited Natalia's midwife, named Zorich, and gave her the order to kill the Grand Duchess.

[4] Natalia's letters to her father, Louis IX, Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt, also written from Russia, are preserved in the Hessian State Archive in Darmstadt.