the cases of two English monarchs who broke with convention by selecting spouses for reasons of the heart, rather than political convenience.

SHOULD THE MONARCH OR HEIR to throne marry for love? `Of course' is the answer most people in Britain would give today, but history suggests otherwise. It is not just that the 1689 Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement rule out marriage with a Roman Catholic. Monarchs and heirs to the throne have never had the freedom of choice which their subjects enjoy. Since the Norman Conquest (setting aside the present Queen Elizabeth and …

…of marriage but becoming closer and closer emotionally was typical of a lover/mistress relationship, not a potential consort. What then was Anne? Ambassadors assumed -- wrongly -- that she was the royal mistress but even Henry wasn't always certain. In the autumn of 1532, before plucking up courage to marry her, he granted Anne the title `Marchioness of Pembroke' with the remarkable clause granting the remainder to her son `whether or not born in wedlock'.