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Queen Victoria and Prince Albert had, undoubtedly, one of the most romantic marriages! She adored him from the moment he arrived in England and, in spite of her youthful petulance, came to appreciate his many, many talents. It was a stormy and passionate relationship - at first, at least! - but in time, the Queen mellowed and learned to appreciate the lovely nobility and brilliance of this most remarkable prince. They sent each other erotic paintings and statues; they shared a deep love of their family and, with Albert, Queen Victoria was anything but the dull prude who appears through the dour statues in most of our cities. Prince Albert's tragic death at only forty-two led to her years in seclusion and the notions of her being a prude but they remain together forever in the British psyche in such things as the "V & A Museum", their memorials and the countless places named after them.Vicky, Queen Victoria's eldest daughter, married at such an early age, a man whom
she adored and who was equally enamored of her. Vicky and Fritz were totally devoted to one another and their tragedy was, yet again, that Fritz died far too soon! Had he lived, the whole course of European history might have been very different.
Franz Ferdinand and Sophie - a doomed love! A mere lady-in-waiting, Sophie was deemed unworthy of a Habsburg Archduke and heir to the throne but Franz Ferdinand was willing to sacrifice everything for her. A man who was seen as hot-tempered and unlikeable, he was devoted to his family and adored his wife. He wrote that the most sensible thing he ever did was to marry the woman he loved. It is a tragedy that they were both murdered on one of their first public appearances together (on their 14th wedding anniversary) but on the other hand, it seems fitting they they left this life side-by-side.And, of course, another devoted couple who were murdered together - Alix and
Nicholas. It is unthinkable that they could have left this world separately. Theirs was a marriage of two souls in harmony and, despite the many tragedies of their life in Russia, nothing ever shook, and nothing will ever shake, their devotion to one another.Happy St. Valentine's Day!
4 comments:
*sigh* It seems so romantic
I always read that the marriage of Grand Duchess Elizabeth and Sergei was in name only. In other words the marriage was never consumated. She was rather cold to Sergei's niece and nephew and sounded more like Sergdi's Barbie doll rather than a wife. After he was assasinated she went on to found a new religious order. The point is that any romance in Segei and Elizabeth's life was just a sham or Potemkin village.
Thank you for commenting, Janis! I don't think anyone knows for sure whether or not the marriage was consummated (although I am of the opinion that it wasn't). Nonetheless, although it was a difficult marriage, there is plenty of evidence that Ella loved Serge very deeply, and he reciprocated that love in his own way. It might not have been a conventional marriage but, from their letters and what they said of each other, they did love one another. Ella seemed to have got on very well with Serge's nephew, Dmitri, and other children who knew her found her to be very warm and loving. Only Maria found her cold, but Maria herself had a very difficult personality and seemed not to like many people at all.
"In his own way" can conjure up many images both good and bad but the secrets died with her. She is considered a saint in the russian orthodoxy.
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