Dame is a Four Letter Word

When Sophia of Stettin came over to Russia to be the heir’s betrothed, she took her new name of Catherine upon converting to Russian Orthodoxy. She could have kept her old name, Sophia was a proper Russian name, but some think Elizabeth felt it an imprudent choice, considering the history of another woman with that name who was quite the usurper. She probably didn’t want to give Catherine any ideas in that area.Little did she know.Well, whether Catherine thought much on her name change at the time, I don’t know, but later on in her life, there was a work attributed to her where she commented on the regent Sophia  - “Much has been said about this princess, but I believe that she has not been given the credit she deserves...she conducted the affairs of the Empire for a number of years with all the sagacity that one could hope for. When one considers the business that passed through her hands, one cannot but concede that she was capable of ruling.”I had my own little geek out over Sophia, on my previous jo