Анна Иоанновна
During the reign of Anna of Russia (1730–40), Natalia Lopukhina was described as "the brightest flower of St Petersburg court". Her liaisons with some of the most powerful courtiers and her arrogance toward Peter I's neglected daughter Elizaveta Petrovna must have fed the latter's jealousy. Elizaveta's accession to the throne in 1741 was a huge blow to Lopukhina. It was owing to her friendship with Anna Bestuzheva, wife of Mikhail Bestuzhev, that she managed to maintain her position at court.