How did Elisabeth Petrovna die?
Elizabeth of Russia
In the late 1750s Elizabeth's health started to decline. She began to suffer a series of dizzy spells and refused to take the prescribed medicines. She forbade the word "death" in her presence.[34] Elizabeth suffered a stroke on Christmas Eve 1761. Knowing that she was dying, Elizabeth used her last remaining strength to make her confession, to recite with her confessor the prayer for the dying and to say farewell to those few people who wished to be with her, including Peter and Catherine and Counts Alexei and Kirill Razumovsky. The Empress died the next day, 25 December 1761.[35] For her lying in state she was dressed in a shimmering silver dress; she was beautiful in death as she had been in life. She was buried in the Peter and Paul Cathedral in Saint Petersburg on 3 February 1762 after six weeks lying in state.[34]
Elisabeth of Hesse, Hereditary Princess of Saxony
After the defeat of the Schmalkalden League, Elisabeth had left her retirement home in Rochlitz. Her brother gave her the Hessian part of Schmalkalden as a widow seat. She lived here from 1547 at court in Hesse. Her brother fell into imperial captivity, and his wife, Christine of Saxony (1505–1549) took steps to get him released. During this time, Elizabeth was often in Kassel, in order to care for the education of Philip's children. In 1556 Elisabeth fell seriously ill, after which her brother set up the first pharmacy in the city of Schmalkalden. She died on 6 December 1557 in Schmalkalden and was buried in the St. Elisabeth's Church in Marburg. It was one of the last Landgrave burials in the St. Elisabeth's Church.