This week marks Valentine’s Day, considered the most romantic day of the year by some and the least romantic by others. While people like to hold up various royal marriages as proof of romance, there has been an incredible range in royal relationships. (It turns out when your marriage is contracted for diplomatic and political reasons, there is no guarantee that you will actually like each other.) So, in honour of Valentine’s Day, we will be exploring five famous royal courtships!
Five Famous Royal Courtships
Admittedly this list skews toward the modern period, largely because we have more sources going forward in time. (Please a) start writing letters again, everybody, and b) do not destroy said correspondence. Sincerely, historians everywhere.)
Also, I will not be including Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in this list because they are idolised when their relationship was actually incredibly problematic and should not be held up as a standard.
Prince George of Wales and Princess Caroline of Brunswick (1795)
This courtship is emblematic of a lot of royal courtships- the pair did not meet in person prior to their engagement, which is not uncommon. George was Prince of Wales and depended on Parliament to give him money to continue to pay his ever-growing debts- they would only do so if he married an appropriate woman. (He had secretly married a Catholic widow who was a commoner, which checked zero boxes for Parliament…) Princess Caroline of Brunswick met the requirements of Protestant and a nation to potentially ally with Britain.
It was a disaster from the start, they both hated the other upon first sight. They reportedly only slept together three times, which was enough to conceive a daughter but lived separately for their entire marriage. Caroline was separated from her daughter and would go on to travel Europe. She was not allowed into Westminster Abbey when George was crowned King (and she should have been crowned Queen).
Outcome: I do not see a way to label this as successful. They hated each other, spent essentially their entire marriage apart, and their only child and heir passed away in childbirth.
Emperor Franz Josef of Austria and Princess Elisabeth of Bavaria (1854)
This courtship has been the focus of several period dramas and films recently, including The Empress on Netflix and Sisi. As many of us know, the Emperor was originally meant to seriously consider Princess Helene as his wife and empress. However, it was younger sister Sisi that caught Franz Josef’s eye.
Elisabeth was considered to be a great beauty, and that absolutely worked in her favour. However, she was also a free spirit who largely eschewed etiquette and formality, which only made her further stand out.
Outcome: Depending on how you look at this union, it might be considered successful. Several of their children lived into adulthood; however, their son and heir died by suicide. They also spent most of their marriage living apart, with the Emperor having multiple mistresses throughout his reign.
Prince George, Duke of York, and Princess Mary of Teck (1893)
Somehow, this is not the first time that it happened in the English/British Royal Family- the heir to the throne died unexpectedly and his wife/intended wife married the younger brother who is now the heir to the throne. (The first case being Prince Arthur and Catherine of Aragon.)
Princess May of Teck was originally engaged to Prince Albert Victor, second in line to the British throne. Their engagement was announced in December 1891 and just six weeks later, he died during an influenza pandemic.
Roughly a year and a half later, the Duke of York (now heir to the throne) proposed to May himself. They were married on 6 July 1893 at St. James’s Palace.
Outcome: Arguably, this is one of the most successful royal marriages in modern history. Though George and Mary might appear to be on the more boring side, their constancy and dedication to the monarchy saw Britain and the Dominions through the First World War and the decades of uncertainty following. Their line is also secured through five generations at this point.
Prince Albert, Duke of York, and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (1923)
While Prince Albert would be known as King George VI after unexpectedly becoming monarch after his elder brother abdicated and led Britain and the Empire through the Second World War, he was a rather nervous individual in his teens and twenties.
After his father quasi-forced him to end his affair with a married woman, Prince Albert turned his eye to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of a Scottish nobleman. It was not necessarily the courtship of dreams- he proposed in 1921, and Elizabeth rejected him. And when he proposed in 1922, she once again rejected him. However, the third time was the charm- she accepted his third proposal and they were married in Westminster Abbey in 1923.
Outcome: Another successful royal marriage despite a rocky courtship! While they did not have a son as everyone wishes, their daughter was the longest reigning monarch in British history. Their personalities also matched incredibly well, with Elizabeth providing her husband with much-needed support and confidence.
Crown Prince Olav of Norway and Princess Märtha of Sweden (1928)
Princess Märtha of Sweden was considered to be a beauty of her generation and was an outgoing and well-spoken young woman. While many royal bachelors did contemplate proposing, she actually ended up engaged to Crown Prince Olav of Norway.
Olav was a dedicated athlete and he proposed while they were both at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam. (Could you imagine a prince competing in sailing at the Olympics proposing to a princess at the games in this day and age? The TikToks we would get…)
Not only were Märtha and Olav a love match, they also were able to help smooth over any lingering tensions between Norway and Sweden. (Märtha was actually born as Princess of Sweden and Norway- the union between Norway and Sweden was dissolved in 1905.)
Outcome: This couple remained in love and their son is still on the Norwegian throne, King Harald V of Norway. However, Märtha passed away in 1954 (most likely of cancer), which makes their romance that much more heartbreaking.)
What are the most interesting royal courtships for you?
Cheers,
The Historian
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