13 women who went down in history who were married to men much younger than them

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

All ages are submissive to love and this will surprise no one. Often, both men and women tend to find her in the arms of partners, which is much younger than them, causing surprise and censure from relatives and society. To your attention - women who loved and were loved by men who were much younger than them, from the Russian queen to the ruler of Egypt, famous dancers and writers.

1. Mary Ann Disraeli

She was rich, peculiar and looking for love. He was younger and deeply in debt, but their marriage went down in history, turning the world upside down. Benjamin and Mary Ann Disraeli are figures around whom anecdotes and funny sayings soar to this day. Sometimes even her friends clutched their heads, trying to understand the rash and pretentious actions of Mary Ann, who always and everywhere preferred to shine brighter than the queen herself.

Disraeli, meanwhile, was an adventurer, an outsider of Jewish descent, mired in debt and facing ruin, who lived in fear that parliament would collapse, and with it its immunity would disappear. But be that as it may, a rich widow and a dowry hunter got married. Mary Ann was considered a naive and gullible fool who fell into the network of a gigolo, who wanted to get her fortune. And only two of them knew how things really were.

These two got so involved in the game that they came up with amazing stories for themselves. Mary Ann talked about how she worked as a milliner in her youth, and Benjamin came up with a famous pedigree depicting an ancient family that fled from Spain to Venice, and then to England, where, he said, he achieved political success.

They created the illusion of an ideal life full of romance and touching feelings, but in fact, both were deeply unhappy in their marriage. Each of them tried to retire away from each other, but, unfortunately, divorce was impossible. All that was left for them was to continue to play the assigned roles.

Their union violated all the rules of the Victorian marriage market: Mary Ann was older and much less educated than her husband, and had no social influence to compensate for such shortcomings. Their marriage was not a love marriage, and for years Benjamin refused to share his finances with his wife. But despite all this, the novel, which began as a fantasy, soon became a real reality.

2. Maria Fitzherbert

Maria Fitzherbert was the real love and future of Prince George of Wales, who later gained the English throne. It is curious that upon meeting her at the opera, Georg fell in love at first sight. However, the girl, who at that time was a widow, was against his courtship and boldly refused the prince. He could not endure such a violent refusal, and declared that he would kill himself if she did not agree to become his wife.

As a result, the girl was forced to accept the offer, and the wedding took place in 1785. In fact, their couple was not legalized, because the future king was not fit to marry a Catholic woman, as well as choose a bride for himself without the approval of the king. Thus, he could easily lose the opportunity to sit on the throne.

That's why Georg left his wife. However, many argue that he did it also because she knew about his courtship and adventures. However, his bachelor life did not last long: the king quickly found him a worthy party in the form of a princess from Germany. A little later, years later, Georg admits that he never loved his new wife and before his death called Marie his main love.

3. Cleopatra

Many have probably heard about the great and powerful Cleopatra, the last queen who turned the head of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. But few people know that this woman was previously married to two of her cousins, who were significantly younger than her. This was considered quite acceptable and normal practice. Pharaohs entered into deliberately incestuous relationships, because this was the only way they could preserve the purity of their royal blood. In addition, many argued that such marriages were blessed by Isis and Osiris.

After her father died, the girl began to rule the country along with her named husband Ptolemy. He was also her blood relatives and was ten years younger than her. It is no secret that such a relationship could not be successful. Ultimately, her brother chased her away, however, with the help of one of her lovers, she returned to the throne, which led to the death of her ex-husband.

Then, as it was planned, she was married to another relative of hers, Ptolemy XIV, who was also significantly younger than herself. In other matters, this time the Queen of Egypt was again not too happy with her marriage and brother-husband. This problem was solved in a rather simple and common way at that time - murder.

4. Elizabeth Singer Rowe

A writer originally from England named Elizabeth Singer Rowe was known for writing quite a few books and novels. However, she was even more famous due to the fact that she married handsome Thomas Rowe, who was thirteen years younger than her.

Historians note that Lizzie received many offers of marriage, but decided to marry the handsome young Thomas. In 1710, when they were married, the girl turned thirty-five, and the young man was only twenty-two.

One of the guests at the wedding, who was the groom's friend, called them a "learned couple." The Rowe's alliance was rather short. They lived together for only eight years, and they were separated by the sudden death of Thomas. However, they were happy: Tom supported Lizzie in her endeavors, and his poems were published several times in her books.

5. George Eliot

George Eliot, aka Mary Ann Evans, was not actually married to her young lover, but she lived with him for many decades. Her beloved man, George Lewis, was already a married man. However, it was an open marriage, on which he insisted to be closer to Mary and at the same time not to harm his wife and children.

The couple lived together for over twenty years. After George's death, Mary decided to find a younger lover again. When she turned sixty, she became engaged to a forty-year-old man named John Cross. However, the marriage was short-lived: almost immediately Cross said goodbye to life, jumping from a height. Some said that he was mentally unhealthy, and a friend argued that he was tired of his insatiable wife. However, Mary herself also left the world six months after the date of their marriage.

6. Victoria Prusskaya

Victoria of Prussia had a very rich pedigree. She was the daughter of the emperor, and was also the granddaughter of Victoria. In the family she was called nothing else but "Moretta", and her fate was to be magnificent. Instead of following her, she chose to bond with the young Prince Adolf of Schaumburg-Lippsky. According to the descriptions of historians, the guy was rather ordinary-looking and awkward, leading a sedentary lifestyle.

Their marriage did not end happily. The couple was childless, which negatively affected the health of the princess, who was struggling with an ever-worsening depression. In the early 1900s, the prince passed away, and the girl made an acquaintance with the dishwasher Alexander Zubkov. The guy was thirty-five years younger than Moretta. At the second marriage, the girl's family members did not appear, thereby showing a protest against their relationship. However, Victoria noted:.

A little later, Alexander was escorted out of Germany, and the girl had to lay all the family values in order to fly away together to another country, overseas. This love story ended sadly. Sasha drove her to bankruptcy by running away with the little money she had left.

7. Jenny Churchill

Jenny Churchill is known to the world even for the fact that she was the mother of the legendary Winston Churchill. She herself was a native of Brooklyn and was nicknamed Lady Randolph Churchill. She was wealthy and influential in England, where almost everyone knew her by sight.

Her first marriage was unsuccessful and fell apart pretty soon. The cheerful Jenny almost immediately contacted George West, a guy who was twenty years younger than her, and was also the best friend of her offspring. However, the second marriage was also short-lived. Soon Jenny realized that he was a beggar and that she was actively cheating on her. However, after the war, she again put on a wedding dress, sharing the day with a young man who was almost the same age as her son.

8. Lilly Langtree

Lilly Langtree was incredibly beautiful and knew very well about it, moreover, she even enjoyed her beauty. Her charm stretched so far that her lovers included Albert, the future Edward VII.

Lilly's first marriage was with a wealthy Irish man who was engaged in agriculture. This did not prevent her from seeing all her lovers, right up to her divorce.

Not tolerating loneliness, she decided to enter into a relationship with Hugo Gerald de Bat, who was barely nineteen years old. The young man was a second-class aristocrat who was about to receive an impressive inheritance.

However, Lilly was also known for the huge number of her lovers. So, among them were quite famous people that fiercely fought for her attention. One of the lovers is also allegedly the father of her daughter, and many are still trying to find the answer to who it was.

9. Catherine Neville

In 1464, Edward IV married a quite attractive widow from the Woodville family, choosing her over an aristocrat from the near abroad. The Woodwill family was quite wealthy and influential, and after such a marriage, it only strengthened its position. Therefore, Liz took up the arrangement of personal life and marriages for her brothers and sisters, giving them the opportunity to significantly enrich themselves.

When Lizzie organized the wedding of her brother John to the Duchess Catherine, the young man barely had time to turn twenty. Before Katherine connected life with a boyfriend, she already had a chance to be a wife, and all her connections led to widowhood. It is curious that then the woman had already changed her sixties, in fact fit into the grandmother of young John. In addition, Catherine was Edward IV's aunt. Such a marriage was more a political move than a desire of Catherine herself, and many chroniclers called this bond devilish.

10. Catherine the Great

Catherine the Great came to power after being married to the future Tsar Peter III. However, after his death, in which, according to historians, she could be directly involved, the girl brought in a large number of young lovers to pamper and console herself.

Among them was the well-known Prince Grigory Potemkin, who was not just Catherine's lover and favorite, but also her partner, advisor and confidant.

Gregory was the one who captured Ukraine for Catherine, and also conquered the regions of Crimea, annexing them to her empire. He spent most of his time near the Black Sea, going there on instructions from his beloved and helping her better control the territory of the empire.

11. Maria I

Mary I, being the Queen of England, was known for her tough character and love for a rather bloody lifestyle. However, this did not prevent her from loyally loving her husband and part-time cousin, Philip II, who was king of Spain. And all this despite the fact that they had a solid age difference.

Maria once planned to marry the king, but this did not stop her from marrying her beloved. In 1554, they were married when she was nearly thirty-five years old. Then the queen hoped that she would be able to give birth to a boy and thereby retain the throne, and with it, abandon the claims to him on the part of Elizabeth I.

Alas, the plans were not destined to come true. It is believed that she experienced a so-called phantom pregnancy - a state where she was completely sure that she was carrying a child under her heart. Doctors to this day cannot agree, building theories about where this ailment came from. It was he who caused the breakup of the marriage. Philip left his old wife to take over the management of the territory in the Netherlands. Sometimes he came to visit her, but more often he stayed abroad. Because of this, Mary was depressed, which is why she left the world several years after the date of their marriage.

12. Isadora Duncan

Isadora Duncan, who was often considered the founder of the art of dance, had a stunning creative path, died tragically enough and could boast of a very short marriage. When she turned forty, she fell in love with the young poet Yesenin, who was as distant as possible to her in life values and who was seventeen years younger.

She did not like tradition and marriage, and by that time he had experience in this. However, she agreed to tie the knot anyway and went with him on her working trip to America. This union collapsed soon enough and brought a lot of grief. If only because the Americans were wary of them, and branded a couple of them as misdirected spies. They had to move to Europe, but they were unable to improve relations. In the 1920s, the family fell apart completely, and a year later her ex-husband killed himself.

13. Anne Hathaway

Anne Hathaway was the wife of the legendary William Shakespeare. Almost ten years his senior, she was pregnant when they were married, and a couple of months after he gave birth to William three children.

It is believed that in the small town where they lived, Stratford-upon-Avon, their couple was truly famous. However, it is precisely about their personal life, as well as about the history of this woman, that practically nothing is known. The only thing that has survived is the work of Shakespeare, including sonnets and plays. However, this did not prevent her from remaining the number one woman in the life of a genius for a long time.

And in continuation of the topic of marriages, read also about how the sensational European weddings ended and what exactly was the main reason that led to the tragedy.