Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
Born Duchess Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg, she was a daughter of Friedrich II Eugen, Duke of Württemberg and his wife, Friederike Dorothea of Brandenburg-Schwedt. She belonged to a junior branch of the House of Württemberg and grew up in Montbéliard receiving an excellent education for her time and station. In 1776, when Grand Duke Paul (the future Paul I of Russia), became a widower, Sophie Dorothea was chosen by Frederick II of Prussia, her maternal great uncle, and by Empress Catherine II of Russia, as the ideal candidate to be Paul’s second wife. They met in a state dinner in Berlin and their engagement was quickly arranged.
Infante Francisco de Paula, Duke of Cádiz
As Infante Francisco settled in the Royal Palace, his father, Carlos IV, shortly before his death, negotiated Francisco's marriage to Princess Luisa Carlotta of Bourbon Two Sicillies. This was with the consent of Ferdinand VII. Luisa Carlotta was the eldest daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and Maria Isabel of Spain, Infante Francisco's sister. This was a union between uncle and niece. The couple married by proxy on 15 April 1819. On 14 May, Luisa Carlotta arrived in Barcelona. The ceremonial wedding took place on 9 June 1819 at the Royal Palace of Madrid. Francisco de Paula was twenty-five years old; Luisa Carlotta was only fifteen. She was lively, witty, strong willed, hot tempered and ambitious. Luisa Carlotta quickly dominated her husband, won the King's heart, and began to produce children who were granted the rank and status of Infantes of Spain. Between 1820 and 1834 the couple had eleven children. The family lived in a wing of the royal palace of Madrid and also spent periods of time at the palaces of la Granja, Aranjuez and Sevilla.