Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

Princess Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (23 September 1781 – 12 August 1860), also known as Grand Duchess Anna Feodorovna of Russia, was a German princess of the ducal house of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (after 1826, the house of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha) who became the wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Pavlovich of Russia. Family Juliane was the third daughter of Franz Frederick Anton, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Countess Augusta Caroline Reuss of Ebersdorf. She was named in honour of her grand-aunt, Queen Juliane Marie of Denmark, who was her paternal grandmother's sister. King Leopold I of the Belgians was her younger brother, while Queen Victoria of United Kingdom was her niece and King Ferdinand II of Portugal was her nephew, as were Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, and Leopold II of Belgium. Grand Duchess of Russia Marriage plans Empress Catherine II of Russia began to search for a suitable wife for her second grandson, Grand Duke Konstantin, after the marriage of her eldest grandson, Grand Duke Alexander, with Louise of Baden in 1793. The empress spoke of pride about Konstantin as an enviable match for many brides in Europe, as he was the second in line to succession to the Russian Empire. Soon a marriage offer arrived from the court of Naples: King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria Carolina suggested a marriage between the Grand Duke and one of their many daughters, which the Empress immediately rejected.