The future monarch (r. 1761–62) was born the Duke of Holstein, but he moved to St. Petersburg in 1742 where he was baptized Orthodox and named heir to the Russian throne by his aunt, Empress Elizabeth (r. 1740–61). His preference for his native duchy, for German friends, and for the Lutheranism of his childhood – coupled with his disdain for all things Russian – alienated him from people at court and became more pronounced once he assumed power. Although he passed a number of enlightened laws, his reign lasted only a brief six months, principally because of his mistake in trying to use Russian troops to recapture land from Denmark for Holstein and because of the ambition of his estranged wife, the future Catherine the Great (r. 1762–96).