Born in Kiel, Germany, and orphaned at the age of 11, he ended up Tsar of Russia. The life of Karl Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorp (1728-1762) was eventful. And short. As an orphan, his aunt Empress Elisabeth, the Tsarina of Russia, takes him with her and appoints him heir to the throne. After her death, Peter the orphan becomes Tsar Peter III, Emperor of Russia. He introduces reforms, abolishes torture, and permits religious freedom. Then he marries Catherine the Great – a fateful marriage. After only six months she threw her husband off the throne and took over the scepter herself. Only a brief time later, Peter III died in prison, not more than 34 years old.... Was he murdered?
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