Catherine’s eldest son met the same grisly fate as his father.
Paul, Catherine's eldest son, and Catherine had a notoriously tumultuous relationship. Shortly after his birth, the boy was taken from his mother's care and reared mostly by the former czarina, Elizabeth, and a succession of tutors. Paul became even more estranged from the government after Catherine ascended to the throne out of fear of reprisals for Peter III's removal and passing. The two's relationship deteriorated to the point where Paul occasionally believed his mother was actively planning his murder. While Catherine didn't have any such plans, she did worry that Paul wouldn't be a capable leader and searched for other candidates to take Paul's place.
Similar to Elizabeth before her, Catherine took charge of Paul's sons' upbringing and schooling, and there were accusations that she meant to make them her heirs instead of Paul. In fact, it's thought that Catherine planned to formally announce this in late 1796 but passed away before she could. Paul took possession of the will before it could be made public because he was concerned that his mother's will had clauses to this effect. Although Paul's eldest son Alexander was aware of his grandmother's intentions, he gave in to peer pressure and did not obstruct his father. Upon becoming czar, Paul quickly revealed himself to be just as unpredictable and unpopular as Catherine had feared. His 23-year-old son became Alexander I after his assassination five years into his reign.
