Maria Feodorovna (Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg)
Sophie Dorothea arrived in St Petersburg that September, converted to the Russian Orthodox Church, and took the name Maria Feodorovna. She married Paul on 26 September 1776. In spite of her husband's difficult character, Maria Feodorovna made a success of her marriage. During the long reign of her mother-in-law, the Russian Empress, Catherine II, Maria and Paul were completely excluded from any political influence, as mother and son mistrusted each other. Maria Feodorovna sided with her husband and lost the initial affection Catherine II had for her. Paul and Maria were forced to live in isolation at Gatchina, but they were devoted to each other and had ten children including: Tsar Alexander I, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia, Grand Duchess Maria of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Queen Catherine of Wurttemberg and Queen Anna Pavlovna of the Netherlands.
Philip I, Duke of Pomerania
On 27 February 1536 Philip married Maria of Saxony, the half-sister of Elector John Frederick I of Saxony. In April 1536 in Frankfurt am Main, he and Barnim then joined the Schmalkaldic League. In 1547, after the Protestants had been defeated in the Schmalkaldic War, Philip feared persecution by the enraged Emperor Charles V. He managed to soothe Charles by paying a fine. The changing circumstances made work increasingly hard for bishop Suawe and in 1549, he resigned. He was succeeded by a Catholic bishop, who tried to restore the old situation and make the Church of Pomerania part of the Roman Catholic Church again. The attempt failed, and to ensure independence of his church, Philip appointed his eldest son John Frederick as bishop of Cammin. He also revived Bugenhagen's church order and mediated in the theological disputes that raged in his duchy.