With her remarkable beauty, slender figure, brilliant mind and royal descent, Catherine was a much sought-after bride. The Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna wanted her daughter to be Empress of Austria, and this prospect was shared by the ambitious Catherine herself. However, Alexander I, who wanted a fine husband for his favorite sister, would not hear of it, since he thought that the Emperor Franz was too old for her, feeble and weak-willed. Furthermore, Alexander never forgot the unhappy life of his sister Alexandra in the Austrian court, which eventually resulted to her premature death.
Catherine on the other hand, was very keen to marry Emperor Franz and live in Austria. She wrote to her brother that even though Franz was already 40 years old, she didn't find that a problem, adding: "I understand that he is no Adonis, but he is a decent man, enough to make a happy family life."