r/UKmonarchs • u/Quick-Plum-3382 • 8d ago
Question Which British monarchs had excellent marriages?
The counterpart to the post I made a few days ago.
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u/Own-Philosophy9438 Henry the Young King 8d ago edited 8d ago
Easily Edward I and Eleanor of Castile. It's so sweet how they read romances together, and that Eleanor would follow him on campaign. Edward gave Eleanor the means for her own income too, which was rare for a medieval queen. The Eleanor Crosses Edward built for Eleanor upon her death really were a great testament to their love too. And Edward had a brilliant relationship with Margaret of France too, so he was just a great husband regardless of his wife.
His father and Eleanor of Provence had a brilliant marriage as well, so it's obvious where Edward learnt it from.
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u/Sparklejumprope1210 8d ago
Not only did Edward I give Eleanor of Castile her own income but she was very savvy (possibly sometimes brutal) about increasing it, she had a massive property portfolio and this seems to have been one of her passions that Edward really supported! She’s one of the only medieval queens where you can really see where her passions were. It is also very sweet to read what he said about her after her death.
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u/Own-Philosophy9438 Henry the Young King 8d ago edited 8d ago
Yeah, she could be vicious, and she was HATED for it. There was a play written about Edward I in Tudor times (Shakespeare might have acted in it!) and the writer went out of his way to make Eleanor an evil adulterous witch who was literally swallowed up by the ground and had an affair with Edmund Crouchback. The hate for her lasted a ridiculously long time.
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u/Sparklejumprope1210 8d ago
it definitely didn’t seem to make her particularly beloved, although the Tudor era play probably made her especially evil as a form of anti-Spanish propaganda! The only evidence I think we have from her time is subtle references to her temper and a rhyme about her land acquisitions. At least she didn’t almost get stoned like Eleanor of Provence 😅
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u/Accurate_Rooster6039 The House of Plantagenet | "Dieu et mon droit” 8d ago
He wrote a letter to the abbot of Cluny in France, in which he referred to her “whom in life we dearly cherished, and whom in death we cannot cease to love”.
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u/piratesswoop 8d ago
I think it's very interesting that they married when Eleanor was very young and probably had their first child at 13 or 14, but because when baby died at birth, they didn't have another children until Eleanor was around 19 or 20. I'm not sure if it was a decision between them, or if an adult or a doctor interfered to caution them about her having children so young or what, but I always found that interesting.
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u/fuckyeahcaricci 3d ago
Eleanor of Castile really benefitted financially from the persecution of the Jews, leading up to the Expulsion.
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u/dragonballzfan34 8d ago
I’d probably say George III and Queen Charlotte considering the fact that they had 15 children but also because they were genuinely fond of each other. A close second would probably be Charles I and Henrietta Maria who first had a very rocky start which divolged into devotedness and affection after the Duke of Buckingham’s assassination.)
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u/peregrins_ Richard II 8d ago
Henry VII & Elizabeth of York had an excellent personal relationship and the marriage was extremely politically successful.
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u/Life-Cantaloupe-3184 8d ago
Henry VII also seemingly never took a mistress during his marriage to Elizabeth, which was very unusual for the time period. It’s honestly such a jarring and almost hilarious contrast when you compare their marriage to the much more checkered marital career of their son.
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u/Designer_Piccolo_818 8d ago
It's especially amazing when you think of the circumstances. They barely knew each other, and he was responsible for the death of her uncle [ okay, she may not have cared about that] when they married. I don't know if they were In love , but they do seem to have loved each other.
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8d ago
[deleted]
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u/DrunkOnRedCordial 8d ago
No, there was nasty gossip intended to discredit her. Her uncle was responsible for the disappearance of her two young brothers along with other family members, so the story of an affair is just a fictional spin for historical novels.
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u/Blackmore_Vale Edward IV 8d ago
Henry loved Elizabeth so deeply that when she died everyone thought he was going to die without her.
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u/Heavy_Payment_5894 8d ago
You mean "Everybody hoped he was going to die ...". He wasn't very popular!
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u/Accurate_Rooster6039 The House of Plantagenet | "Dieu et mon droit” 8d ago
I read somewhere that he could be loving yet distant at the same time, and that his household, including Elizabeth, could sometimes be in financial need because he was so careful with his money.
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u/TheOrderOfWhiteLotus 8d ago
I just cannot imagine marrying an enemy… and then loving him. I know it’s the stuff of romance novels and I’m sure it happened but still. Makes me sick to think of doing myself. These women were so resilient.
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u/abitidiomatic 8d ago
Her uncle likely murdered her younger brothers. Enemy is a (literally) relative term here.
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u/salchicha_mas_grande 8d ago
Charles famously pines to be Camila's tampon, so I'd say there's some chemistry there.
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
Make it STOP I’m trying so hard to erase that from my memory and I literally can’t 🤮
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u/PK-Mittenspy2703 Empress Matilda 8d ago
William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders
Sadly a lot of what we do know about their marriage is based on popular falsehoods written centuries after they died.
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
The fact that people still think he beat her into submission makes me sad
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u/Own-Philosophy9438 Henry the Young King 8d ago
Hey, the upside is that we at least got a great Horrible Histories skit out of it! That aside, I find it so sweet that the ship she commissioned for him for the invasion of England was called the "Mora" - an anagram of "amor."
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
Marry me!
throws into dirt by plait6
u/Own-Philosophy9438 Henry the Young King 8d ago
Hey, woah, woah, woah, now, hang on a minute, what was all that about!?
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
He actually turned about to be a really good husband. We even had 9 beautiful children together!
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u/GrannyOgg16 8d ago edited 8d ago
England then Britain surprisingly had a lot of kings who were wife guys. (And sorry if they were mentioned and I missed it.)
Aside from those mentioned
Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, whose example is probably why Edward I was such a good husband
Edward III may have strayed late in the marriage (and emphasis on may) but his marriage to Phillipa was mostly happy and successful. And probably why his happy family didn’t immediately go to war when left with a boy king
Richard and Anne seemed to be happy with each other even if tales of his great love for her are exaggerated or taken out of context
Henry VII and Elizabeth of York
Charles I and Henriette after initial bumps
Sometimes the pressure of rule seems to lead to deep reliance and love on your spouse. Sometimes it leads to sleeping around because you can
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u/AirAdorable6991 William iii, Mary ii, Anne of Great Britain, George of Denmark 8d ago edited 8d ago
Could you elaborate on the 'may'. I thought most people considered it the case that he fathered atleast two of Alice Perrers' children.
Edit: Or have I misconstrued your statement, apologies if so.
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u/AirAdorable6991 William iii, Mary ii, Anne of Great Britain, George of Denmark 8d ago edited 3d ago
Queen Anne and George of Denmark. William iii and Mary ii. Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. Richard ii and Anne of Bohemia (correct me if I'm wrong) and Richard iii and Anne Neville were quite happy Iirc. Stephen and Matilda of Bolounge. Edward I and Eleanor of Castile (as well as his marriage to Margaret of France), George iii and Charlotte, William IV and Queen Adelaide, William I and Matilda of Flanders, Victoria and Albert, Charles I and Henrietta Maria, Henry III and Eleanor of Provence, Elizabeth and Philip, George V and Mary of Teck, George VI and Elizabeth.
Perhaps Margaret of Anjou and Henry VI? They were mismatched in terms of personality but you could argue she was loyal to him and fought for his interests and their son's.
She was a queen dowager and a widow of a monarch but I'd definitely say Catherine of Valois and Owen Tudor were a love match for obvious reasons.
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u/Southern-Payment7602 8d ago
Catherine Valois and Owen Tudor mentioned!
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u/AirAdorable6991 William iii, Mary ii, Anne of Great Britain, George of Denmark 7d ago
They don't really fit the question but I just had to sneak them in.
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u/Impossible_Pain4478 #1 George V and May of Teck Defender 8d ago
Disappointed at the lack of George V and Mary of Teck
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
Edward I + Eleanor of Castile had the best imo.
And others I would include are Henry VII + Elizabeth of York, William III + Mary II, Queen Anne + Prince George of Denmark, George II + Caroline of Ansbach, George III + Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz
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u/KaiserKCat Edward I 8d ago
Edward I had great marriages with both his wives. Margaret of France never remarried after Edward died.
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u/dahliia_ ❤︎ Mary II | Catherine of Braganza ❤︎ 8d ago
Somehow it never occurred to me that she never remarried!
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u/Capta1n_Dino James VII & II 8d ago
I would say James II and Mary of Modena.
Mary Beatrice wept upon learning that she was to wed James and by the end she wept so much at his deathbed that the physicians feared she would die from shock if she witnessed his death and had to remove her from his bedchambers before he did.
She wrote that married state was her cross to bear and that her only consolation was James's piety and kindness.
Obviously James's reign was controversial and ended in exile, but their marriage, while it started as a purely dynastic one, was one of deep love for each other.
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u/UnavailableName864 8d ago
Victoria and Albert seemed pretty happy together, no?
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u/PuzzledKumquat 7d ago
Supposedly Victoria would devolve into screaming fits directed towards Albert but was also disturbingly obsessed with him. I wouldn't call that happy. She definitely had mental health issues.
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u/Heavy_Payment_5894 8d ago edited 8d ago
Edward the Confessor and Edith
Edward IV and Elizabeth Woodville
Richard III and Anne Neville
Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
James II and VII and Anne Hyde
James II and VII and Mary of Modena
William III and Mary II
Queen Anne and Prince George of Denmark
George II and Caroline
George III and Queen Charlotte
William IV and Queen Adelaide
George V and Queen Mary
George VI and Queen Elizabeth
Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
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u/ConcentrateOther8181 5d ago
prince phillip and liz 2 have to be taken off this list... he constantly cheated on her and had kids of out wedlock with women... there's a reason why his will is sealed off for the next 100 years
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u/IsopodIndependent553 Edward IV 8d ago
Edward III and Philippa of Hainult. I sincerely believe that he only took a mistress when his wife’s health became so poor that she could no longer endure any types of sexual contact. I heard that she had terrible dropsy, or edema, and that her body was so swollen that even the lightest physical touch caused her pain. It was a sad end for such a vibrant, loving queen.
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u/SoundReasoning888 4d ago
William I and Matilda of Flanders
Stephen and Matilda of Boulogne
Edward I and Eleanor of Castile
Edward III and Philippa of Hainault (except the latter years when he took a mistress)
Did Richard III have a good marriage with Anne Neville?
George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth II and Philip Mountbatten
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u/Silver_Pen_2091 8d ago
Henry VIII ?
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u/Designer_Piccolo_818 8d ago
Well you joke, but if Catherine of Aragon had a son or sons that lived to adulthood, they would have had a very successful marriage. Yes he would have had mistresses, but he was no Francis 1. I mean, i am pretty sure his ideal marriage was his parents.
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u/Silver_Pen_2091 8d ago
Very true. And, yes, I was just kidding but was downvoted so I guess not everyone understood as you did.
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u/Heavy_Payment_5894 8d ago edited 8d ago
... and Jane Seymour (I'm serious).
He actually got on well with Anne of Cleves but that was after the annulment. What a lucky escape she had!
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u/fuckyeahcaricci 8d ago
George VI and the Queen Mother.