Catherine Ivanovna Nelidova was a graduate of the Smolny Institute for noblewomen and a member of Maria Fedorovna's entourage. Toward the middle of the 1780s, she became a favorite companion of Paul and was soon rumored to be his mistress, which is unlikely. Their close relationship did not initially disturb Maria Fedorovna, but eventually, platonic relations or not, jealousy did its work, and when the tensions of the young court became extreme, Nelidova modestly retired to Smolny. At length, however, Maria Fedorovna discovered in her a sympathetic and unaffected character and an essential ally in the struggle to reason with and to exert a constructive influence on the increasingly willful Paul. They thereupon became inseparable companions. [ x ]
