[For context, Peter III had been married to Catherine II, later known as Catherine the Great. However, he was essentially a man-child, more interested in playing with toy soldiers than consummating the marriage. There is some speculation that, due to a later corrected medical issue, he wasn’t physically able to have sexual intercourse during the first years of their marriage. Even after this correction, however, he still wasn’t interested in her, instead taking a mistress himself. After some time, Catherine ended up taking a lover.]
The affair took a rather awkward turn when Peter caught Poniatowski, in disguise, sneaking into the palace. The cuckolded husband wasn’t in the least bit angry, however. Rather, he took a perverse delight in dragging his wife out of bed and insisting that she and her lover join him and his mistress for dinner. This was followed by more intimate soirees among the four, during which Peter developed an attachment to his wife’s bedmate – just as he had earlier with Saltykov.
Source:
Farquhar, Michael. “Chapter 6 – Peter III (1762): “Nature Made Him a Mere Poltroon”.” Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, and Madness from Romanov Russia. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2014. 105. Print.
Further Reading:
Peter III of Russia (Russian: Пётр III Фëдорович)
Stanisław II Augustus (also Stanisław August Poniatowski; born Stanisław Antoni Poniatowski)
Count Sergei Vasilievich Saltykov (Russian: Сергей Васильевич Салтыков, IPA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Saltykov_(1726%E2%80%931765)
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