Editing Peter the Great (section)

==Marriages and family==
[[File:Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich.jpg|thumb|''[[Peter the Great Interrogating the Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich at Peterhof]]'', a painting by [[Nikolai Ge]] (1871)]]

Peter the Great had two wives, with whom he had fifteen children, three of whom survived to adulthood. Peter's mother selected his first wife, [[Eudoxia Lopukhina]], <!--with the advice of other nobles in January 1689,--> when he was only 16.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=134}} This was consistent with previous Romanov tradition by choosing a daughter of a minor noble. This was done to prevent fighting between the stronger noble houses and to bring fresh blood into the family.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=133}} Upon his return from his European tour in 1698, Peter sought to end his unhappy marriage. He divorced the [[tsaritsa]] and forced her to join a convent.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=134}} She had borne him three children, although only one, [[Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia]], survived past his childhood.

Menshikov introduced him to [[Marta Helena Skowrońska]], the daughter of a [[Polish-Lithuanian identity|Polish-Lithuanian]] peasant, and took her as a mistress some time between 1702 and 1704.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|pp=131, 134}} Marta converted to the [[Russian Orthodox Church]] and was given the name Catherine.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=131}} Though no record exists, Catherine and Peter married secretly between 23 October and 1 December 1707 in St. Petersburg.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=136}} Peter valued Catherine and married officially, at [[Saint Isaac's Cathedral]] on 19 February 1712.

In 1718, his son [[Alexei Petrovich]] was locked up in the Peter and Paul fortress, whom he regarded as the rebellious [[Absalom]].{{Sfn|Collis|2015|p=368}} He was suspected of being involved in a plot to overthrow the Emperor. Alexei was tried and confessed under torture during questioning conducted by a secular court ([[Pyotr Andreyevich Tolstoy|count Tolstoy]]). He was convicted and sentenced to be executed. The sentence of [[high treason]] could only be carried out with Peter's signed authorization, and Alexei died in prison, as Peter hesitated before making the decision. Alexei's death most likely resulted from injuries suffered during his torture.{{Sfn|Massie|1980|pp=76, 377, 707}} Alexei's mother Eudoxia was punished. She was dragged from her home, tried on false charges of adultery, publicly flogged, and confined in monasteries while being forbidden to be talked to. {{dubious|date=August 2024}}

In 1724, Peter had his second wife, [[Catherine I of Russia|Catherine]], crowned as Empress, although he remained Russia's actual ruler.

===Issue===
By his two wives, he had fifteen children: three by Eudoxia and twelve by Catherine. These included four sons named ''Pavel'' and three sons named ''Peter'', all of whom died in infancy. Only three of his children survived to adulthood. He had only three grandchildren: Tsar [[Peter II of Russia|Peter II]] and [[Grand Duchess Natalya Alexeyevna of Russia (1714–1728)|Grand Duchess Natalia]] by Alexei and Tsar [[Peter III of Russia|Peter III]] by Anna.
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%"
|-
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|colspan=4|'''''By Eudoxia Lopukhina'''''
|-
|[[Alexei Petrovich, Tsarevich of Russia]]||18 February 1690||26 June 1718, age 28||Married 1711, [[Charlotte Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]];<br>issue [[Peter II of Russia]]
|-
|Alexander Petrovich||13 October 1691||14 May 1692, age 7 months||&nbsp;
|-
|Pavel Petrovich||1693||1693||&nbsp;
|-
|colspan=4|'''''By Catherine I'''''
|-
|Peter Petrovich||Winter 1704{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}||1707{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}|| Born and died before the official marriage of his parents
|-
|Paul Petrovich||October 1705{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}||1707{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}|| Born and died before the official marriage of his parents
|-
|Catherine Petrovna||7 February 1707{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}||7 August 1708{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=135}}|| Born and died before the official marriage of her parents
|-
|[[Anna Petrovna]]||27 January 1708||15 May 1728|| Married 1725, [[Charles Frederick, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp|Karl Friedrich, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp]]; <br>issue [[Peter III of Russia]].
|-
|Elizaveta Petrovna,<br/>later [[Elizabeth of Russia|Empress Elizaveta Petrovna]]||29 December 1709||5 January 1762|| Reputedly married 1742, [[Alexei Razumovsky]];<br> no issue
|-
|Maria Natalia Petrovna||20 March 1713||17 May 1715|| born in Riga
|-
|Margarita Petrovna||19 September 1714||7 June 1715||
|-
|[[Peter Petrovich (1715-1719)|Peter Petrovich]]||9 November 1715 ([[New Style|N.S.]])||6 May 1719||
|-
|Pavel Petrovich||13 January 1717||14 January 1717|| in [[Wesel]]
|-
|[[Grand Duchess Natalia Petrovna of Russia (1718–1725)|Natalia Petrovna]]||31 August 1718||15 March 1725||
|-
|Peter Petrovich||7 October 1723||7 October 1723||
|-
|Pavel Petrovich||1724||1724||
|}

===Mistresses and illegitimate children===
[[File:Peter the Great, Tsar of Russia.jpg|thumb|Peter the Great with a black [[page (servant)|page]], by [[:de:Gustav von Mardefeld]], a Prussian diplomat, who attended the peace congress on [[Åland]] between 1717–1719.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 August 2023 |title=Peter the Great with a Black Page Mardefelt, Gustaff B. Mardefeld, Gustav von (Baron) V&A Explore The Collections |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O98300/peter-the-great-with-a-miniature-mardefeld-gustav-von/ |website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections |language=en}}</ref>]]

* [[Anna Mons]], from 1691 (or 1692) until 1704.{{Sfn|Hughes|2004|p=134}}
* [[Letitia Cross]] in 1698
* [[Mary Hamilton (lady in waiting)|Lady Mary Hamilton]]<ref>''Peter the Great: A Life From Beginning to''. Hourly History. 2018. {{ISBN|1-7239-6063-2}}</ref><ref>A. Gordon (1755), pp. 308–309</ref><!--It is not clear these are Peter's children-->
** Miscarriage (1715)
** Unnamed child (1717–1718?)
* [[Maria Cantemir|Princess Maria Dmitrievna Cantemirovna of Moldavia]], daughter of [[Dimitrie Cantemir]]
** Unnamed son (1722–1723?)<ref>[[Petre P. Panaitescu]], Dimitrie Cantemir. Viața și opera, col. Biblioteca Istorică, vol. III, Ed. Academiei RPR, București, 1958, p. 141.</ref>