Accessibility Links

The official website for BBC History Magazine and BBC World Histories Magazine

Subscribe to BBC History Magazine
  1. Home
  2. Marriage

Marriage

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren
Victorian

The marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren

A portrait of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer (c1340-1400), who modern literary scholars credit for turning Valentine into the patron of love. Chaucer was a major influencer in his day – after him, everyone began calling their beloved “Valentine” and writing love poems on 14 February, says Lisa Bitel. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Roman

A brief history of Valentine’s Day – from the patron saint of epilepsy to Chaucer’s love tales

Advertisement
GettyImages-187574416-2-2edce12
General Modern

A brief history of Valentine’s Day cards

A medieval couple being married by a clergyman. Central miniature, folio 102v. Book IV by Henricus von Assia (13th century). Chapter Archive of Tarazona, Spain. (Photo by PHAS/UIG via Getty Images)
Medieval

Love and marriage in medieval England

An illustration of motors and cycles in Kensington High Street, opposite Holland House, London, from the Illustrated London News, 1903. (Photo by The Print Collector/Print Collector/Getty Images)
General Modern

Lonely hearts and holiday flings: a brief history of dating

The former Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, for whom Edward gave up the throne in 1936, sparking a crisis that rocked the British monarchy. The couple are pictured here in 1939. (Photo by Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)
General Modern

The 7 most romantic moments in history

Queen Victoria refused to wear her crimson velvet robes of state for her wedding to Albert. Instead, she opted for a dress of pure white and “simple magnificence”. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)
Victorian

“Nothing could have gone off better”: the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

A portrait of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert with five of their nine children, by Frederick Winterhalter. (Photo by © Historical Picture Archive/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
Victorian

The Library Victoria and Albert: a marriage of misery?

Subscribe for unlimited access to The Library
Unlock now
Advertisement
Britain's Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, make the journey by carriage procession to Buckingham Palace following their wedding ceremony on April 29, 2011 in London. (Image by Matt Cardy/AFP/Getty Images)
General Modern

Kate Middleton: a modern royal woman

Queen Victoria of Great Britain with her husband, Prince Albert, and their nine children. (Photo by Rischgitz/Getty Images)
Victorian

Queen Victoria’s children

Queen Victoria, c1860s. Victoria attended her son's wedding in March 1863 wearing full mourning dress – her husband, Prince Albert, had died some 15 months earlier. (Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)
General Modern

Troublesome royal in-laws through history

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, with her husband Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, after their marriage in 1947. (Corbis via Getty Images)
20th Century

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip: 8 milestones in their marriage

A portrait of the romantic novelist Jane Austen. (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
Georgian

The real reason Jane Austen never married

A portrait of Jane Austen. (Photo by Stock Montage/Stock Montage/Getty Images)
Georgian

In profile: Jane Austen