Marrying for Love: The Experience of Edward IV and Henry VIII

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

Edward IVShould the monarch or heir to the 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.

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