The Empress Elizabeth Petrovna of Russia *(supposedly) secretly married Alexei Razumovsky in 1742/3. They reportedly had three children - the princesses Tarakanoff, and an unnamed son.
What if Elizabeth had formalized the marriage? What would the effects be on Russia?
*I say supposedly, because when Potemkin went to see Razumovsky about the reported marriage, in order to claim precedent to marry Catherine the Great, Razumovsky destroyed the only proof of it by throwing it on the fire, declaring "There, now let none say I was more than a true and loyal servant to her late Majesty."