Editing Nicholas I of Russia (section)

==Early life and road to power==
[[File:Tsar Nicholas I Pavlovich as a boy, circa 1808.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Portrait of Grand Duke Nicholas Pavlovich ({{circa}} 1808), by anonymous painter after [[Johann Friedrich August Tischbein]], located in the [[Russian Museum]], Saint Petersburg]]

Nicholas was born at [[Gatchina Palace]] in [[Gatchina]], the ninth child of [[Paul I of Russia|Grand Duke Paul]], heir to the Russian throne, and Grand Duchess Maria Feodorovna of Russia (née [[Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)|Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg]]). He had six older sisters and two older brothers, namely the future [[Alexander I of Russia|Emperor Alexander I of Russia]] and [[Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia]].

Four months after Nicholas's birth, his grandmother, [[Catherine the Great]], died and his parents became Emperor and Empress of Russia. In 1800, at the age of four years, Nicholas was named Grand Prior of Russia and entitled to wear the [[List of Grand Masters of the Knights Hospitaller|Maltese cross]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ceyrep|url=https://academic.oup.com/nq/article-abstract/s1-XI/286/309/4535653?redirectedFrom=fulltext|title=The grand master of the order of Malta|date=21 April 1855|journal=[[Notes and Queries]]|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|volume=s1-XI|pages=309–310|doi=10.1093/nq/s1-XI.286.309c|issue=286}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=An Official Statement from the Chancellery of the Head of the Russian Imperial House, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, on the activities of organizations which falsely refer to themselves as the "Order of Malta"|url=http://www.imperialhouse.ru/en/interest/interest.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015043530/http://www.imperialhouse.ru/en/interest/interest.html|archive-date=15 October 2020|access-date=11 September 2020|via={{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20071030003235/http://www.orderstjohn.org/osj/pushkin.htm orderstjohn.org]}}|quote=mperors Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander III, and Nicholas II were all Bailiffs Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion of the Order of Malta.}}</ref> Nicholas grew up to be a fine young man. Riasanovsky says of him that he is "the most handsome man in Europe, but also a charmer who enjoyed feminine company and was often at his best with the men."<ref>Nicholas Riasanovsky, '' Nicholas I and Official Nationality in Russia, 1825–1855'' (1959) p. 19</ref>

[[File:Alte Nationalgalerie-Krüger-Regimentübergabe in Potsdam 1817 DSC8020 (cropped).jpg|thumb|''[[Parade in Potsdam in 1817]]'' by [[Franz Krüger]]. A painting commemorating his visit to [[Berlin]] to marry [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Princess Charlotte of Prussia]]]]
On 13 July 1817, Nicholas married [[Alexandra Feodorovna (Charlotte of Prussia)|Princess Charlotte of Prussia]] (1798–1860), who took the name Alexandra Feodorovna when she converted to Orthodoxy. Charlotte's parents were [[Frederick William III of Prussia]] and [[Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz]]. Nicholas and Charlotte were third cousins, as they were both great-great-grandchildren of [[Frederick William I of Prussia]].

With two older brothers, it initially seemed unlikely Nicholas would ever become Tsar. However, as Alexander and Constantine both failed to produce legitimate sons, Nicholas first came to attention as being likely to rule one day, or at least that his children may succeed. In 1825, when Tsar Alexander died suddenly of [[typhus]], Nicholas was caught between swearing allegiance to Constantine and accepting the throne for himself. The interregnum lasted until Constantine, who was in [[Warsaw]] at that time, officially forfeited his right to succession. This had been required by Tsar Alexander as a condition of Constantine's marriage to his second wife [[Joanna Grudzinska]]. On 25 (13 [[Old Style]]) December, Nicholas issued the manifesto proclaiming his accession to the throne. That manifesto retroactively named 1 December (19 November [[Old Style]]), the date of Alexander I's death, as the beginning of his reign. During this confusion, a plot was hatched by some members of the military to overthrow Nicholas and seize power. This led to the [[Decembrist Revolt]] on 26 (14 [[Old Style]]) December 1825, an uprising Nicholas quickly suppressed.