Q 01/05

In which country was Catherine the Great born?

A) Prussia

B) Sweden

C) Russia

D) Austria

Answer · why

A) Prussia

She was born in Stettin, now Szczecin in Poland, where her father was governor and a Prussian general.

Q 02/05

Catherine was born with which German princely surname?

A) Holstein-Gottorp

B) Saxe-Coburg

C) Anhalt-Zerbst

D) Hesse-Darmstadt

Answer · why

C) Anhalt-Zerbst

She was Princess Sophie Auguste Friederike von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg; she took the name Catherine on converting to Orthodoxy in 1744.

Q 03/05

How old was Sophie when she first met her future husband in 1739 and found him 'detestable'?

A) 13

B) 12

C) 15

D) 10

Answer · why

D) 10

She disliked his pale complexion and his fondness for alcohol, and kept to the other end of the castle.

Q 04/05

How was Sophie related to Peter, the heir she married?

A) Second cousins

B) First cousins

C) Not related at all

D) Uncle and niece

Answer · why

A) Second cousins

Two of her first cousins became kings of Sweden, and her uncle became heir to the Swedish throne.

Q 05/05

On arriving in Russia, Sophie nearly died of pleuritis; what did she credit her survival to?

A) Prayer to Saint Catherine

B) A German herbal remedy

C) Frequent bloodletting

D) Cold baths

Answer · why

C) Frequent bloodletting

She had four phlebotomies in a single day; her call for an Orthodox priest rather than a Lutheran pastor delighted the court.