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.
Maria of Saxony, Duchess of Pomerania
She married on 27 February 1536 in Torgau Duke Philip I of Pomerania (1515–1560). The marriage of the couple is depicted on the so-called Croÿ Carpet, which shows, in addition to the bridal couple and their families, the Reformers Johannes Bugenhagen, Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon. The carpet comes from Cranach's workshop and is now in the Pomerania State Museum in Greifswald. During the ceremony, Martin Luther is reported to have dropped one of the rings, whereupen and he said: "Hey, devils this is none of your business!".