<P> After her affair with her lover and adviser Grigori Alexandrovich Potemkin ended in 1776, he allegedly selected a candidate - lover for her who had the physical beauty and mental faculties to hold her interest (such as Alexander Dmitriev - Mamonov and Nicholas Alexander Suk). Some of these men loved her in return, and she always showed generosity towards them, even after the affair ended . One of her lovers, Pyotr Zavadovsky, received 50,000 rubles, a pension of 5,000 rubles, and 4,000 peasants in Ukraine after she dismissed him in 1777 . The last of her lovers, Prince Zubov, was 40 years her junior . Her sexual independence led to many of the legends about her . </P> <P> Catherine kept her illegitimate son by Grigori Orlov (Alexis Bobrinskoy later created Count Bobrinskoy by Paul) near Tula, away from her court . </P> <P> Sir Charles Hanbury Williams, the British ambassador to Russia, offered Stanisław Poniatowski a place in the embassy in return for gaining Catherine as an ally . Poniatowski, through his mother's side, came from the Czartoryski family, prominent members of the pro-Russian faction in Poland . Catherine, 26 years old and already married to the then - Grand Duke Peter for some 10 years, met the 22 - year - old Poniatowski in 1755, therefore well before encountering the Orlov brothers . In 1757, Poniatowski served in the British forces during the Seven Years' War, thus severing close relationships with Catherine . She bore him a daughter named Anna Petrovna in December 1757 (not to be confused with Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia, the daughter of Peter I's second marriage). </P> <P> King Augustus III of Poland died in 1763, so Poland needed to elect a new ruler . Catherine supported Poniatowski as a candidate to become the next king . She sent the Russian army into Poland to avoid possible disputes . Russia invaded Poland on 26 August 1764, threatening to fight, and imposing Poniatowski as king . Poniatowski accepted the throne, and thereby put himself under Catherine's control . News of Catherine's plan spread and Frederick II (others say the Ottoman sultan) warned her that if she tried to conquer Poland by marrying Poniatowski, all of Europe would oppose her . She had no intention of marrying him, having already given birth to Orlov's child and to the Grand Duke Paul by then . She told Poniatowski to marry someone else to remove all suspicion . Poniatowski refused . </P>

Who is catherine related to and what is the relationship