10 divorces of heads of state that are significant for world history

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

“All weddings are alike, and each divorce is interesting in its own way,” wrote Will Rogers, an American actor and publicist, at one time. On January 10, 1810, the marriage of Emperor Napoleon I and Josephine was annulled. After the divorce, the couple managed to maintain friendly relations, and Josephine - the title of Empress. It is worth noting that this is far from the only broken up royal marriage, however, not all ended so civilized. Today are the ten most high-profile divorces in history.

Napoleon and Josephine

The French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte lived with Josephine for 13 years, but she was never able to give birth to an heir to him. Divorce Napoleon proposed to his wife back in 1807. By that time, there were often disagreements between them, especially because of Josephine's extravagance. A stubborn struggle to preserve the marriage, stormy scenes, but as a result, Josephine yielded to her husband's insistence "to divorce for the good of France."

Although the senators did not have the right to pass a verdict on divorce, no one dared to contradict Napoleon. On December 15, 1809, the Senate, by special order, authorized the divorce of the emperor. On January 10, 1810, the marriage of Napoleon, whose name in the history of Russia is associated with Patriotic War of 1812, and Josephine was annulled, and already on March 11, Paris celebrated the marriage of the emperor with the Archduchess of Austria Maria Louise, who soon gave Napoleon a son.

Josephine retained the title of Empress. She lived surrounded by a courtyard near Evreux, corresponded with Napoleon and followed his fate with participation.

Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko and Rogneda Polotskaya

At the end of the 10th century, Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, known before Baptism as a "great libertine" and who had several hundred concubines in Kiev, got married to the daughter of the Polotsk prince Rogvolod Rogneda, but received a contemptuous refusal. “I don’t want to be a slave girl,” she said to Prince Rogneda, and all because the housekeeper Malusha was Vladimir’s mother. The prince took Rogneda as a wife by force, having dealt with her entire family. But Rogneda did not forgive the insult and after a few years tried to kill Vladimir. The enraged prince intended to kill the insidious wife with his own hand, but the young son Izyaslav defended his mother, and Vladimir could not do this. Divorce was inevitable. Vladimir expelled Rogneda with Izyaslav from Kiev, allocating part of the Polotsk principality conquered by him, where Rogneda's father Rogvolod once ruled. This is how the city of Zaslavl appeared in Belarus, and the Rogvolodovichs are considered the founders of the Belarusian statehood.

Henry VIII Bluebeard: 6 marriages and 2 divorces

The English king Henry VIII, nicknamed Bluebeard, was married six times. English schoolchildren are asked to remember his fate with the help of a simple mnemonic phrase "divorced - executed - died - divorced - executed - survived" (divorced - executed - died - divorced - executed - survived). The first three wives gave him 10 children, however, only three of them survived: from the first marriage - Maria, from the second - Elizabeth, from the third - Edward. All children of Henry VIII at different times became monarchs. Bluebeard's last three marriages were childless.

The formal reason for the divorce from her first wife, Catherine of Aragon, was her previous marriage with Henry's brother Arthur. In fact, Henry wanted a son, but all their children, except for Mary, died almost immediately after birth. The divorce proceedings lasted for years. The marriage was annulled in 1533. Catherine refused to recognize the dissolution of the marriage, thereby dooming herself to exile.

Divorced Henry VIII and his fourth wife - Anna Klevskaya. The marriage was originally political, which made it possible to seal the alliance of Henry, Francis I and the German Protestant princes. The engagement took place in absentia - Henry saw only a portrait of his bride. When the bride arrived in England, he categorically did not like her. Immediately after the conclusion of the marriage in 1540, Henry VIII began to look for ways to get rid of his wife, and as a result, he stated that the actual marriage relationship between him and Anna did not work out. The ex-wife in England remained as "the king's sister". She outlived not only Henry, but all his wives. By the way, Thomas Cromwell, who arranged this marriage, lost his head.

Basil III and Solomonia

Vasily III, who went down in history as the first ruler of Russia, named her tsar, lived in marriage with Solomon for 20 years, but they never had children. Childlessness at that time was considered by the monarchs as a good reason for divorce, but the church did not dissolve the marriages because of this. But there was a way out: a person who went to a monastery for the world was dying, and his other half was automatically freed from the bonds of marriage. This means that it was enough for Basil III to "convince" Solomon to take monastic tonsure. True, she resisted, but you will not go against the will of the king. After the tonsure, the nun was sent to the Intercession Monastery in Suzdal, and then north to Kargopol. Solomonia died 17 years later.

The Church did not approve of Basil III's act, and the Jerusalem Patriarch Mark, as the legend says, predicted that if the tsar marries a second time, his wife will give birth to him "an evil child", by whose will the kingdom "". In 1526, Vasily III, ignoring the prediction, married 18-year-old Elena Glinskaya, who 4 years later gave birth to his son Ivan, who went down in history as Ivan the Terrible.

Ivan the Terrible: monastery or death

It is difficult to name the exact number of Ivan the Terrible's wives today. At least eight are known. He really loved his first wife, Anastasia Zakharyina, and was happy with her. But in 1560 the queen died, which was a severe blow for the king. The rest of the wives, as soon as they bored the king, went to the next world under the most plausible pretexts. In the most humane way, Ivan the Terrible divorced his fourth wife, Anna Koltovskaya. The king sent her to a monastery. She became schema-nun Daria and was imprisoned in an underground cell. Already when Ivan the Terrible died, they wanted to release Anna, but she refused.

Vasilisa Melentieva's sixth wife Ivan the Terrible, less fortunate. Apparently, Grozny loved Vasilisa. He was ready to fulfill any of her whims, removed all women from the palace, practically stopped orgies and festivities. But one day he found the queen in the bedroom with her lover. The divorce was quick and cruel. On the outskirts of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, a hole was dug into which 2 coffins were lowered: in one coffin was Ivan Kolychev, and in the other there was a living, bound, with a gagged Vasilisa Melentyev.

Peter I and Evdokia Lopukhina

Emperor-reformer Peter I entered into his first marriage at the age of 17 at the insistence of Matushka Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. Peter's marriage with Evdokia Lopukhina was a guarantee of support in the rifle troops. But literally a year later, a discord began in the family: Evdokia did not share the interests of her husband, she did not shine with intelligence, and the mother-in-law was unhappy with her daughter-in-law, since the Lopukhins were unreliable allies.

The tsar's marriage was bursting at the seams, but until the death of his mother in 1694, Peter the Great tried not to express a negative attitude towards his wife. Lopukhina, while her husband was engaged in state affairs and mistress Anna Mons, also made a lover - Major Stepan Glebov. Later, during interrogation, she did not deny this connection and was whipped with a whip. Glebov was tortured for a long time, knocking out testimony in a conspiracy against the tsar, and then impaled. The queen was sent to the Ladoga monastery, and after 7 years she was transferred to Shlisselburg.

Evdokia Lopukhina survived her husband, second wife of Peter, son and even grandson of Peter II. The latter, by the way, released her from prison, allocated money and reinstated her rights.

Nelson Mandela and Vinnie Mandela

The marriage of Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, who was the moral standard for his compatriots, has stood the test of the struggle against apartheid and Nelson's 27-year imprisonment. But at the time when he was released from prison and managed to get a brilliant victory in the presidential election, he no longer lived with his wife. At the divorce proceedings, the president said that Winnie had cheated on him.

Later, the 77-year-old head of state married Grasse Machel, the widow of the President of Mozambique. She became the only woman in the world who twice became the first lady of two different countries.

Hugo Chavez and Marisabel

Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez has always had more than enough charisma, attracting not only voters, but also numerous fans to him. They say that it was because of the latter that his wife and colleague Marisabel filed for divorce. Moreover, she became the most ardent critic of public policy. And Hugo remained a bachelor until his death.

Alvaro Colom and Sandra Torres

But the divorce of the President of Guatemala Alvaro Coloma with his wife Sandra Torres turned out to be fictitious. The fact is that Sandra decided to run for president, and according to the Constitution of this country, close relatives of the current president do not have such a right. The couple divorced, the Central Election Commission registered Sandra as a candidate, but she still lost the elections.

Gerhard Schroeder: three divorces and Russian children

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was married four times, but in no marriage did he have children of his own. Schroeder's fourth wife was Doris Kepf, who is 19 years younger than him. The couple are raising two children adopted in one of the maternity hospitals in St. Petersburg. In 2004, a 3-year-old Russian girl appeared in the family of the German Chancellor, and in 2006 - a boy who was not even a year old at that time.

It is interestingIn the administrative code of Japan, there is such a clause as "sleeping in an indecent position" as a basis for divorce. In Italy, the basis for divorce can be compulsion to housework, in Madagascar - a long business trip of one of the spouses. In the 15th century in Turkey, a wife could file for divorce if her husband did not provide her with the necessary amount of coffee every day. And in Korea, until recently, a husband could demand a divorce if his wife had one of 7 vices: illness, disrespect to her husband's parents, infertility, adultery, jealousy, talkativeness and an evil tongue.

Those who are not uninterested in family values will not be left indifferent by the project of the photographer Jamie Diamond, who makes family portraits with strangers.