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.
Princess Maria Vittoria of Savoy
Maria married Prince Leopold of the Two Sicilies, known as the Count of Syracuse. The count was the fifth son of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and his second wife the Infanta Maria Isabel of Spain. Maria Vittoria and Leopold were married on 16 June 1837 in Naples. Maria and Leopold had one daughter who died a day after her birth.