Marriage

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)

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

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A history of Valentine’s Day celebrations – from fertility festivals to the first cards

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)

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

Catherine de Valois is seen here marrying Henry V, who was 14 years her senior, as part of the 1420 Treaty of Troyes. Following Henry's death she wed Welshman Owain ap Maredudd ap Tudur, who is variously referred to as the queen’s steward, page or cupbearer. (Mary Evans Picture Library/Alamy)

Scandalous Tudor marriages: 7 women who braved royal wrath by marrying for love

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

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

Left: Prince Charles and Princess Diana on their wedding day, 29 July 1981. Right: Prince William and Catherine Middleton on their wedding day, 29 April 2011. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

The 8 most famous royal weddings in British history

A Maria Spilsbury painting of a group sat at a drawing room table

Romance and reality in Jane Austen’s world

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

Queen Victoria’s children

Katherine Parr (also Catherine), the sixth and last wife of King Henry VIII, c1543. Engraving after a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. Katherine was no middle-aged frump but a clever, devout and passionate wife, says Derek Wilson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Katherine Parr: the truth about the wife who ‘survived’

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

The real reason Jane Austen never married

Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon

Arthur, Catherine and Henry: a story of early Tudor triumph and tragedy

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Henry VIII’s mistresses: who else did the Tudor king sleep with?

Queen Victoria with her children and grandchildren

The marriages of Queen Victoria’s grandchildren

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)

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)

Lonely hearts and holiday flings: a brief history of dating