Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
| Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp | |
|---|---|
A portrait of Johanna, presumably by Antoin Pesne, c.1746
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| Princess consort of Anhalt-Zerbst | |
| Tenure | 1742–1747 |
| Born |
24 October 1712 Gottorp Castle, Gottorp |
| Died | 30 May 1760 (aged 47) Paris, France |
| Spouse | Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst |
| Issue Among others… |
Catherine II of Russia Frederick Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst |
| House | Holstein-Gottorp |
| Father | Christian August, Prince of Eutin |
| Mother | Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach |
Johanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp (24 October 1712 – 30 May 1760) was a princess of the House of Holstein-Gottorp and later the Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst. She is best known as the mother of Catherine the Great of Russia.
She was born at Gottorp, the daughter of Christian August, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp and Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach. She was the Regent of Anhalt-Zerbst from 1747 to 1752 for her minor son, Frederick Augustus.
She had been brought up at the court of Brunswick, by her godmother and aunt by marriage, Elisabeth Sophie Marie, the Duchess of Brunswick-Luneberg, to whom the duke of Holstein-Gottorp was glad to relinquish one of his several daughters. Johanna Elisabeth grew up on the same footing as her cousin, the duchess's daughter and it was the duchess who arranged her marriage at 15 and provided her dowry.
Johanna Elisabeth was married in 1727 to Prince Christian August of Anhalt-Zerbst, who coincidentally had the same Christian name as her father, who had died the previous year. He was a general in the Prussian army, and served under Frederick William I of Prussia. After her marriage, Johanna Elisabeth travelled with her husband to Stettin, a city on the limits of the bay of Pomerania, where the base of the regiment of her husband was located. It is said that a father-daughter like relationship developed between Johanna Elisabeth and her husband.
Johanna Elisabeth found her existence with her sober, middle aged husband in the misty grey and dull town of Stettin a far cry from the livelier atmosphere she had grown up in at the Court of Brunswick. The city offered little scope for a young girl like Johanna Elisabeth, who craved for an exciting social life. Neither did the birth of her first child bring her much joy. Her attitude towards Sophie (the future Empress Catherine II) was always ambivalent. The birth was a difficult one and Joanna Elisabeth seems to have thought that the reward was insufficient, considering what she went through. According to her daughter, she nearly died in the process and it took her 19 weeks to recover.
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