The Fiver – Five of the Greatest British Romances

Love is in the air in February. Romance has been the subject of many a great story, song, and poem over the course of British history, and there have been many real-life romances that have fueled our romantic imaginations. From royals who married for love to writers who turned their words into romance, we have highlighted five great romances from across the years. Of course, these five stories are by no means the pinnacle of romance and have experienced their fair share of trials and tribulations, so if you have a famous British romance you’d like to highlight, you can share that with us in the comments.

Duke of Duchess of Cambridge

Lots of teenage girls have posters of heartthrobs on their walls, but few end up marrying them. Prince William was quite the literal poster boy in his teenage years, and teenage Kate Middleton had one in her boarding school dorm room. Fast forward to the pair’s first year at university and William noticed her at a school fashion show. From there, friendship blossomed into romance, and they were sharing a flat their second year. Fast forward to today, they’re married with three kids and look to be the future of the monarchy.

Robert and Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Plenty of couples have eloped over history, but few as famous as poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Both were well into their literary careers by the time they first met and she was celebrated while he was more harshly critiqued. Robert’s publication Dramatic Lyrics was one such effort, but one that drew a defense from Elizabeth, which prompted their first meeting. They quickly fell in love, but Elizabeth’s father didn’t approve of Robert, so in 1846 they married in secret. Elizabeth returned home for a week after the wedding, but then left for Italy with Robert and never saw her father again.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Another Royal romance that got its start in the teens, Queen Elizabeth’s first interaction with her future husband took place when she was thirteen and Philip was eighteen and a cadet at the Royal Naval College. During a tour of the college, Philip was selected to give Elizabeth, her sister Margaret, and their parents King George VI and Queen Elizabeth a tour. The future queen was quite taken with the dashing future officer, but of course, nothing happened for another four years and Philip began writing her in 1943. After the war, their relationship began in earnest and after they were engaged in 1947, Elizabeth like many young women in the country saved up her ration coupons for her wedding dress. They were married the same year and were together for over seventy-three years before Prince Philip’s death in 2021.

Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Godwin Shelley

Perhaps one of the most well-known couples in all of literature, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Mary Godwin Shelley are as famous for their own works as they are for their marriage. Percy was already married and five years’ Mary’s senior when they first met in Scotland. Eventually, however, Percy and his wife fell out of love with one another and he and Mary began meeting secretly at the grave of her mother, the political activist Mary Wollstonecraft. Mary’s father did not approve of their relationship so they eloped and ran off to Europe where they eventually joined their fiend, Lord Byron, and Mary’s sister Claire in Geneva. It was here on one dark and stormy night when telling ghost stories turned into her greatest work—Frankenstein. After Percy’s death from drowning, she continued to edit his poems as well as her own works as well as raising their son.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

In a time when nearly all royal marriages were for political gain, the marriage of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha had the added benefit of true love. The pair met when Victoria was seventeen and not yet queen and fell in love almost instantly. Since tradition dictated that one could not propose to a reigning monarch, after her ascension in 1837, she actually proposed to Albert. They were married in 1840, produced nine children, and remained together until Albert’s death in 1861. Afterwards, Victoria went into mourning and wore black for the remainder of her reign, eventually joining Albert forty years later in 1901.