About
Russian prince who was a favorite of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He became a leader of the 1762 coup which overthrew Catherine's husband Peter III of Russia and installed Catherine as empress.
Before Fame
He was educated in the corps of cadets at Saint Petersburg. He began his military career in the Seven Years' War. While serving in the capital as an artillery officer, he caught the fancy of the then-Grand Duchess Catherine Alekseyevna. He then led the conspiracy which resulted in the 1762 dethronement and death of Catherine's husband, Emperor Peter III.
Trivia
He and Catherine had an illegitimate son Aleksey, from whom descends the line of Count Bobrinsky. Catherine cut him off after learning that he had seduced a 13-year-old cousin. To win back Catherine's affection, he presented to her one of the greatest diamonds in the world, known ever since as the Orlov Diamond.
Family Life
Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov was the son of Gregory Orlov, governor of Great Novgorod. He had a younger brother Alexei Grigoryevich Orlov who would equally gain military and political prominence in Russia. In 1777, at the age of 43, he married his 18-year-old relative, Catherine Zinovyeva, thought to be either a niece or a cousin, but left no children by that marriage.
Associated With
When a young Grigory Potemkin became Catherine's new lover in 1774, he went abroad for several years. He returned to Russia a few months prior to his death in Moscow in 1783.
