Catherine the Great’s Husband Peter III Ruled Over Russia—Until He Didn’t

Hulu’s The Great stars Elle Fanning as a Catherine the Great, years before she would earn that name. She arrives at the Russian court a naïve and bookish German Princess, and is immediately horrified by its uncultured residents and her frivolous ladies-in-waiting—but most of all, it’s her new husband, Peter III (Nicholas Hoult), that she’d like to, er, eliminate. But was the real Peter III actually so terrible, and their marriage such a disaster? Here’s what you should know about the ill-fated monarch. Peter III was born Karl Peter Ulrich in northern Germany in 1728. He was born Charles Peter… Read Full Article