text: However, the relationship between the two women quickly turned sour: Maria Feodorovna sided with her neglected husband in the family's acrimony and despite her good intentions to ease the difficult situation, meddling only aggravated their differences. In December 1777, she gave birth to the first of her ten children, future Tsar Alexander I. Just three months later, Catherine II took the newborn to raise him without interference from the parents.  When a second son was born in April 1779, she did the same thing. This caused bitter animosity with Maria, who was only allowed weekly visits with Paul. For the next four years, the couple didn't have any more children. Deprived of her sons, Maria occupied herself by decorating Pavlovsk Palace, Catherine's gift to celebrate the birth of her first grandson.
  European tour
  Tired of being excluded in political affairs, Paul and Maria asked Catherine for permission to travel abroad to Western Europe. In September 1781, under the pseudonyms of "the Count and Countess Severny", the Tsarevich and his wife set off on a journey that lasted fourteen months and took them to Poland, Austria, Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Paris made a special impression on the couple, who visited King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette. While Louis got along well with Paul, Marie Antoinette felt intimidated and nervous when she met Maria, a known intellectual who exhibited confidence. The conversation would turn lively later and the Queen gave the Grand Duchess a toilette set with the Württemberg arms printed on it. In Austria, Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II compared Maria with her husband and found her superior.