Marriage
In 1808 Elizabeth was reluctantly obliged to decline a proposal from the exiled Duke of Orléans (later King of the French as Louis Philippe I) due to his Catholicism and her mother's opposition.
During a ball in the British royal court in 1814 Elizabeth got to know the German Prince Frederick of Hesse-Homburg. When Elizabeth saw the Austrian officer in his elegant Hussar's uniform, she is supposed to have said: "If he is single, I will marry him!". Against all resistance the wedding took place on 7 April 1818 in the private chapel in Buckingham Palace in Westminster.
It was not a real "love match", in spite of the mutual understanding and respect; in fact it was an agreement with which both were satisfied. Elizabeth was able to escape the constrictive environment of her home by moving to Germany with her husband, and Frederick gained many advantages by becoming allied with the British royal family.
Read more about this topic: Princess Elizabeth Of The United Kingdom
Famous quotes containing the word marriage:
“We have seen that men are learning that work, productivity, and marriage may be very important parts of life, but they are not its whole cloth. The rest of the fabric is made of nurturing relationships, especially those with children—relationships which are intimate, trusting, humane, complex, and full of care.”
—Kyle D. Pruett (20th century)
“The sum and substance of female education in America, as in England, is training women to consider marriage as the sole object in life, and to pretend that they do not think so.”
—Harriet Martineau (1802–1876)
“Women hope men will change after marriage but they don’t; men hope women won’t change but they do.”
—Bettina Arndt (20th century)