How many lovers did Catherine the Great have?
The Men in Catherine’s Life 1752: Serge Saltuikov A chamberlain at the young court of the Grand Duke and Duchess, he belonged to one of the noblest and oldest families in Russia. When assigned to this post he had been married for two years to one of the Empress Elizabeths ladies-in-waiting. He was a charming and women found him attractive. Seeing that Catherine was abandoned by her husband, he dared to approach her. After eight years of a virgin marriage, at age twenty-three, she gave herself to Saltuikov. He is most likely the father of Catherines first child, Grand Duke Paul, although around the same time Catherines husband Peter had for the first time marital relations with her after a surgical intervention. Catherine had fallen hard for this charming rogue, who soon tried to distance himself from her because of fear and also because he grew tired of this clandestine affair. The Empress sent Saltuikov to the Swedish court at the end of September 1754. Catherine was very distressed a
