The art of marrying in secret

So now we examine the case of the artist Raphael (d’Urbino), who lived from 1483-1520. He was officially betrothed, in 1514, to Maria Bibbiena, the niece of a Cardinal (left, painted in 1516), which implies the need for some propriety in the relationship. Canon law would definitely apply and the chance of secretly marrying her…

Louise, the mincing monarch….!

  A little later than our period, but sometimes a laugh pops up out of nowhere and I have to share. I was looking through catch-up TV and came upon the following blurb for an episode of the Royal Palaces series: “…Versailles is one of the most enormous and impressive palaces in the world. Louise…

Clearing up a French genealogical mystery (2)

Just over six years ago, we published an article about the claimants to the French throne. They divide into three lines: BOURBONS: Charles X’s male line, comprising the entire legitimate male line of Louis XIV with one proviso, became extinct in 1883.       The exceptions are the Spanish Borbons, with their habit of…

Another mystery solved?

So, has the case of “The Man in the Iron Mask” been solved at last? The 1998 film suggested that, in accordance with Voltaire’s theory (via Dumas), he was Louis XIV‘s unknown elder twin, imprisoned since birth – in the same way that James II had a twin, Alexander, who died after a few hours.…

Someone else who clearly didn’t marry in secret

Here she is, joining the list with Edward IV (twice), Louis XIV, John Lennon, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Sir Andre Previn, Ed Sheeran, Dan Snow and Adele. Never mind the evidence, the judicial decisions and the legislation, it just didn’t happen (as they say in Cairo).

More Secret Marriages!

Back in 2010, historian Dan Snow was married in secret to Lady Edwina Grosvenor, daughter of the Duke of Westminster. I’ve looked but I can’t see that Dan mentions Edward IV‘s probable ‘secret marriage’ to Eleanor Talbot in any of his Twitter or other postings on history. (He did once post a very entertaining picture…

She also married in secret …

… and, to add to Louis XIV, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, Andre Previn, Ed Sheeran and Princess Beatrice, we can now add the singer Adele to the list – she appears to have married in 2016 but divorced in 2019. In Cairo, they will still maintain that Edward IV married in secret in 1464,…

A further secret marriage …

… has been contracted between Princess Beatrice of York and property developer Count Edoardo Mapozzi. Unlike the cases of her sister and cousins the Dukes of Cambridge and Sussex, we cannot easily trace a common ancestor for the couple. Of course, despite those who still claim that Edward IV’s 1461 secret marriage didn’t happen, Louis…

HENRY “TUDOR” IN THE 21ST CENTURY?

With advanced computer technology, more artists and other interested people are doing their own ‘facial reconstructions’ of famous historical figures, often giving them modern hair styles and clothes to let people see how they might have looked if they lived in the present day. The following article has 30 such images, and is interesting because…

Of course, nobody ever married in secret …

… except Louis XIV, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, John Lennon, the Earl of Kent and Edward IV (twice). Anyway, here is another case, involving someone we have discussed before …