Discover Royalty: Top 9 Entertaining and Intriguing Fun Facts about Catherine the Great

1. Equestrian Glamour Queen

You may have heard of horse girls, but have you met the ultimate queen of equestrian glamour? Say hello to Catherine the Great, Empress, patron of the arts, and fashion icon, rocking a majestic Life Guard uniform atop her trusty steed.: This cool rider was immortalized in the 1771 painting "Equestrian Portrait of Catherine II of Russia" by Danish painter Vigilius Eriksen. Today, it's part of the prestigious collection in the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Source => commons.wikimedia.org

2. Swipe Right Empress

Catherine the Great, the original "Swipe Right" Queen who knew her way around Russia's boudoir circuit: An Empress with an undeniable zest for love, she is said to have enjoyed anywhere between 12 to 22 romances throughout her reign, leaving hearts aflutter and political favors firmly bestowed among generals, admirals, and wealthy nobles alike.
Source => esquire.com

Did you know Marie Curie's cookbooks and personal belongings are still radioactive after 100 years? Even her manuscripts require protective clothing to access! Discover more fascinating facts about this famous scientist.

=> Fun Facts about Marie-Curie

3. Bookworm Shopaholic

Who said retail therapy isn't a royal pastime? Catherine the Great was the ultimate bookworm shopaholic, and she had a strange obsession with a certain Frenchman's intellectual goodies: Catherine vehemently denied buying Voltaire's entire library, but she did acquire his books and manuscripts after his demise, even attempting (unsuccessfully) to replicate his French château at her Summer Palace, before the precious works found their final home at the Winter Palace.
Source => nlr.ru

4. Strategically Picked In-laws

They say you can't choose your family, but Catherine the Great sure knew how to pick her in-laws: despite coming from a cash-strapped household, her mother's wealthy royal and noble relatives threw their weight behind her rise to power.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

5. Russia's Original Cougar

Catherine the Great, Russia's original cougar: She used her numerous passionate entanglements with military generals and aristocrats to amass and maintain political power, most notably with the dashing Grigory Potemkin, together expanding the Russian empire and securing Potemkin's role as one of the most powerful men in the country.
Source => history.co.uk

6. Intellectual Superhero

Imagine Catherine the Great as the original bookworm superhero, speed-reading her way to sovereignty and penning intellectual capers with her Enlightened Justice League: Funny enough, she had an astounding collection of over 30,000 books and maintained correspondence with Voltaire and Diderot, while writing her own treatise called "Nakaz," which detailed her governmental philosophy.
Source => theguardian.com

7. 18th-century Russian Oprah

Catherine the Great: the 18th-century Oprah of Russia, influencing and shaping an empire with the power of knowledge and culture: She founded the Free Economic Society - Russia's oldest voluntary association, established new academies, theaters, and supported the arts to advance the flourishing Russian culture during her reign.
Source => thebritishacademy.ac.uk

8. Debunking Equine Death Myth

Hold your horses, not-so-naughty naysayers: Catherine the Great didn't actually kick the bucket while engaging in equine escapades! The oft-misunderstood monarch actually succumbed to a fairly un-rib-tickling stroke in 1796, aged 67, after reigning over the Russian Empire for a considerably less salacious (but still respectable) three decades.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

9. Ultimate Selfie Queen

If Catherine the Great were alive today, she'd probably be the ultimate selfie queen, commanding a palace full of painters to capture her best side: This art-loving empress built a staggering collection of paintings and sculptures throughout her rule, with many masterpieces still dazzling visitors at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Source => shortyawards.com