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 Sophie of Baden
Sophie was married to Woldemar, Prince of Lippe (1824–1895) second son of Leopold II, Prince of Lippe (1796–1851) and Princess Emilie of Schwarzburg-Sondershausen (1800–1867) on 9 November 1858 in Karlsruhe. The marriage was childless, leading to a dispute that lasted two decades between the two lines of the House of Lippe to inherit the principality after the death of Woldemar, in 1895.