Grace Kelly

 NAME Grace Patricia Kelly, later Her Serene Highness Princess Grace of Monaco. (1)

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Grace Kelly was an American actress who starred in eleven films between 1951 and 1956, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Country Girl, before retiring at age 26 to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco and become Princess Grace, one of the 20th century's most enduring style icons. (2)

BIRTH Grace Kelly was born on November 12, 1929, at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  She was baptized a few weeks later, on December 1, 1929, at St. Bridget's Catholic Church in the East Falls neighborhood of the city. (3)

FAMILY BACKGROUND Her father, Irish-American John B. Kelly, Sr. (1889–1960), won 126 consecutive single scull rowing races between 1919 and 1920 and took three Olympic gold medals for sculling; he also built a highly successful brickwork contracting company well known across the East Coast. During the Second World War he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as National Director of Physical Fitness, and he later ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Philadelphia. 

Her mother, Margaret Katherine Majer, was a former model and the first woman to coach women's athletics at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Grace was the third of four children, with an older sister, Margaret ("Peggy"), an older brother, John Jr. ("Kell"), who followed his father into competitive rowing, and a younger sister, Elizabeth ("Lizanne"). (1)

CHILDHOOD Grace grew up in the family home built in 1929 in the East Falls district of Philadelphia, in a household that prized athleticism, competition and boisterous confidence — qualities the shy, bookish Grace did not share with her siblings. 

She wore glasses, avoided competitive sports, and was drawn instead to make-believe games and the amateur theatricals staged by her Kelly and Godfrey relatives; her uncle George Kelly was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. 

By her own account the Kelly children were "always competing for everything – competing for love," and Grace often felt like the family's underachiever next to her celebrated father and glamorous older sister. (4)

EDUCATION Kelly was educated at Ravenhill Academy, a convent school, and then at the Stevens School in Philadelphia, before moving to New York City in 1947 to train at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, from which she graduated in 1949. She supported herself as a fashion and catalogue model while studying, appearing on the covers of magazines including Cosmopolitan. (2)

CAREER RECORD 1949 Kelly made her Broadway debut in a revival of Strindberg's The Father, having already begun appearing in television dramas broadcast live from New York. 

1951 She made her film debut in a small role in Fourteen Hours. Her performance was not noticed by critics and did not lead to immediate movie offers.

1952 Co-starred as Amy Fowler Kane alongside Gary Cooper in the classic Western High Noon, which established her as a rising Hollywood talent.

1952 MGM signed Kelly to a seven-year film contract paying $850 a week, and two months later she and the cast travelled to Nairobi to begin filming Mogambo; her role as Linda Nordley won her a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress and her first Academy Award nomination. 

1952–1956, Kelly's four-year career as a Hollywood leading lady produced several classics, including three collaborations with Alfred Hitchcock — Dial M for Murder, Rear Window and To Catch a Thief.

1954 Her deglamorized performance in The Country Girl, opposite Bing Crosby, earned her the Academy Award for Best Actress. 

1956 She starred in her final film, the musical High Society, released three months after her real-life wedding to Prince Rainier. 

1956, Kelly retired from acting at age 26 upon marrying Prince Rainier III of Monaco, who subsequently banned the showing of her films within the Principality; Hitchcock reportedly tried for years afterward to lure her back to the screen. 

APPEARANCE Kelly stood approximately 5 feet 6½ inches tall, with blonde hair, blue-grey eyes and the porcelain, symmetrical beauty that led Hitchcock to describe her as a "snow-covered volcano." (2) She reportedly disliked her own wide jaw, calling herself "too tall, too leggy, too chinny," and learned to tilt her head to make her face appear narrower on camera. (4)

Kelly in 1955

FASHION Kelly favored a polished, understated elegance of tailored suits, full skirts, gloves and pearls that made her one of fashion's most imitated women, and she is credited with popularizing the head-covering created by knotting a silk scarf under the chin — a look still known simply as "the Grace Kelly." The Hermès handbag she famously used to shield her pregnancy from photographers in 1956 was subsequently renamed the "Kelly" bag in her honor. (5)

CHARACTER Those who knew her described a woman of quiet reserve and self-discipline masking genuine warmth; designer Oleg Cassini, who dated her in the early 1950s, recalled that she was "warm, funny, and caring, but also very serious about her work" and never stayed out past 11 p.m. (6) 

Colleagues frequently noted a combination of shyness and steely professionalism inherited from a childhood spent proving herself against more extroverted siblings. (4)

SPEAKING VOICE Kelly cultivated a cultured, softly modulated mid-Atlantic voice during her drama training, distinct from her native Philadelphia accent, which became part of her poised on-screen persona. 

SENSE OF HUMOUR Despite her icy screen persona, friends and co-stars often spoke of her dry, cheeky, and earthy sense of humor off-camera.

RELATIONSHIPS Before Prince Rainier, Kelly had romances with several older, established men in Hollywood, including actors Clark Gable and Ray Milland, and a two-year, reportedly secret engagement to Russian-born fashion designer Oleg Cassini. (6)

She met Rainier III in the spring of 1955 during a Cannes Film Festival photo shoot arranged by Paris Match, ended her relationship with Cassini after apparent pressure from her parents, and became engaged to the Prince within days of his visiting her family in Philadelphia over Christmas 1955; Kelly later admitted to a friend, "Do you realize if my mother hadn't been so difficult about Oleg Cassini, I probably would have married him? ... That one decision changed my entire future." (7) 

The engagement was announced on January 5, 1956 — the same day Kelly topped the U.S. Best-Dressed list — and the couple married on April 18, 1956 in a civil ceremony at the royal palace, followed the next day by a formal religious ceremony at Monaco's Cathedral of St. Nicholas, televised to an estimated thirty million viewers. Kelly's ivory gown, designed by MGM's Helen Rose, used 450 yards of silk and lace; the religious ceremony itself lasted only 15 minutes, but the recitation of the 142 royal titles she acquired took a further 25. (8) 

The couple had three children: Caroline, born January 23, 1957, and now heiress presumptive to the Monegasque throne; Albert, born March 14, 1958, later Albert II, Prince of Monaco; and Stéphanie, born February 1, 1965. 

MONEY AND FAME Kelly moved from a comfortable but not fabulously wealthy Philadelphia upbringing into genuine global stardom during her brief screen career, then into the considerable wealth and near-mythic fame of Monegasque royalty. (2) 

In 1993, over a decade after her death, she became the first actress to appear on a United States postage stamp, issued jointly with a matching Monaco stamp on the same day. 

FOOD AND DRINK Kelly was a genuine gourmet who enjoyed cooking and relished classic French and Provençal cuisine, favoring dishes such as pissaladière and ratatouille Niçoise, and she made Perrier-Jouët's Belle Époque her favorite Champagne, sponsoring the house from 1970 as patron of Monaco's annual Rose Ball charity gala. 

Early in her marriage, friends noted she "knows and likes to drink good French wines," once serving guests a dinner of clear soup, roast lamb and Peach Melba with a 1949 Château Latour . Away from formal entertaining, however, her personal diet was strict rather than indulgent: she followed the nutrition philosophy of celebrity dietician Gayelord Hauser, built her mornings around oatmeal, and relied on raw salads, whole grains and occasional multi-day "cleanses" of fruit, skimmed milk and green tea, largely avoiding sugar, white bread and dessert . 

As Princess of Monaco she hosted numerous state banquets and gala dinners, including a 1959 Élysée Palace dinner with President Charles de Gaulle, a 1960 state banquet in Bern with Swiss President Max Petitpierre, and a 1961 State Banquet at Dublin Castle . Yet she never fully abandoned her American roots at the table: she insisted on a traditional turkey dinner at the Monaco palace every Thanksgiving, a custom her son Prince Albert has spoken about publicly, and she kept a private fondness for homemade cheeseburgers as an occasional treat. (9)

As a young actress reading scripts, Kelly was photographed snacking on celery, an image later cited by fashion writers as an example of her disciplined, understated approach to appearance and health. (5)

MOVIE CAREER Grace Kelly’s career as a Hollywood leading lady lasted just four years, from 1952 to 1956—a remarkably brief period in which she nevertheless managed to leave behind four films generally regarded as classics. Three of them were directed by Alfred Hitchcock: Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, and To Catch a Thief. Then, at the age of 26, she retired from the screen altogether. Hitchcock, who evidently had not yet learned that princesses are not easily summoned back to work, repeatedly urged her to return, but she never made another film.

Kelly’s retirement became still more complete after her marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Showings of her films were banned in the principality—a rather extraordinary way of dealing with the problem of having a world-famous movie star for a wife. There was, however, one final cinematic curiosity. In High Society, Kelly’s bride-to-be character wears a magnificent diamond ring that was not a prop at all, but her actual Cartier engagement ring, given to her by Prince Rainier. The film reached American cinemas just three months after the royal wedding, allowing audiences to admire the future princess wearing the real thing while pretending, for professional purposes, to be someone else.

MUSIC AND ARTS Kelly's final film, High Society (1956), was a musical built around songs by Cole Porter and co-starring Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

As princess she remained a patron of the arts, establishing the Princess Grace Foundation in 1964 to support local artisans, musicians, dancers and actors. (2) 

In her later years she also became a recognized amateur artist, creating pressed-flower collages signed "G.P.K." that were exhibited at the Galerie Drouant in Paris in 1977 and 1980. (10)

LITERATURE In 1980, Kelly co-authored My Book of Flowers, a book combining horticultural advice with reflections on her pressed-flower artistry, in which she wrote that arranging petals brought "the same kind of tranquility as doing needlework, crocheting, or knitting." (10)

NATURE Kelly had loved flowers since childhood in Philadelphia and, once settled in Monaco, founded the Monaco Flower Show in 1966 and the Garden Club of Monaco, later serving as an international judge of floral displays. (10) 

She once said, "To have complete satisfaction from flowers you must have time to spend with them. I talk to them and they talk to me." (11)

A rose garden dedicated to the memory of Kelly was opened in 1984 by Rainier in Monaco's Fontvieille district.

PETS Kelly was frequently photographed with her French poodle, Oliver, one of several dogs she kept during her acting years and into her time in Monaco. (5)

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Unlike her athletic siblings, Grace avoided competitive sport as a child, gravitating instead toward theatre and, later in life, toward gardening and the delicate craft of pressed-flower collage-making, an art form known as oshibana. She described the hobby as her "best relaxation," working only when she had a quiet hour free from interruption. (4) (12)

SCIENCE AND MATHS Kelly supported medical advancements and public health initiatives through her charity work as President of the Red Cross of Monaco.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Kelly was raised and remained a practicing Roman Catholic throughout her life, attending Mass regularly and observing traditional Friday fasting as a child, though her biographers note her family's faith was more habitual than intensely devout. (3) 

As princess, she deepened her religious commitments, collaborating with Holy Cross Father Patrick Peyton's Family Theater Productions on rosary-themed broadcasts and once telling an interviewer that helping the world's less fortunate must "find their origin in the hearts and minds of each of us." (13)

POLITICS Kelly did not pursue an independent political career, but her marriage carried political weight: Monaco's 1918 treaty with France stipulated the Principality would revert to French control if the ruling Grimaldi family failed to produce an heir, making the births of her children a matter of national significance. (7)

SCANDAL Kelly's swift shift from a reported secret engagement to Oleg Cassini to marriage with Prince Rainier fueled persistent tabloid speculation that her family had pressured her into an arranged-style match, with love letters auctioned decades later appearing to confirm the seriousness of the Cassini relationship. (6) 

Separately, biographer Wendy Leigh has alleged Prince Rainier had multiple affairs within months of the wedding, claims that have added to enduring speculation about the private strains behind the couple's public "fairy tale" image. (7) 

The Prince and Princess of Monaco arrive at the White House for a luncheon, 1961

MILITARY RECORD Her father, John B. Kelly, Sr., was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt during the Second World War as National Director of Physical Fitness.

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Kelly was generally reported to be in good health throughout her life, though medical opinion after her death concluded she had suffered a mild stroke, described as a "cerebral vascular incident," at the wheel of her car shortly before the fatal 1982 crash. (14) 

HOMES Kelly grew up in the Kelly family's home in the East Falls section of Philadelphia, built the same year she was born, and after 1956 divided her time between the Prince's Palace of Monaco and the family's country retreat at Roc Agel in the hills above the Principality.

TRAVEL Kelly travelled to Kenya in 1953 to film Mogambo on location in Nairobi, and crossed the Atlantic repeatedly between Hollywood, New York and Europe both during her acting career and afterward as Princess of Monaco engaged in charitable and diplomatic duties. 

DEATH On September 13, 1982, Kelly suffered a stroke while driving her 1971 Rover P6 3500 from the family's country home at Roc Agel back to Monaco, with her daughter Stéphanie in the passenger seat; Stéphanie's attempts to regain control of the vehicle failed, and the car plunged around 120 feet down the mountainside. 

Kelly never regained consciousness and died the following night, September 14, 1982, at the age of 52, after Prince Rainier and their children agreed to withdraw life support. (14) )

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA . She has been portrayed in numerous biographical films, documentaries, and books, including the 2014 biopic Grace of Monaco. 

ACHIEVEMENTS Kelly won the Academy Award for Best Actress and three Golden Globe Awards during a Hollywood career that lasted barely five years, and was later ranked 13th on the American Film Institute's list of the 25 Greatest Female Stars of classic Hollywood cinema.

As Princess of Monaco she founded the Princess Grace Foundation, the Monaco Flower Show and the Garden Club of Monaco, and in 1993 became the first actress honored on a U.S. postage stamp. 

Sources: (1) Wikipedia (2) Encyclopaedia Britannica (3) The Catholic Company (4) BBC Culture (5) The Telegraph (6) People (7) Grunge (8) The Business Soirée (9) Tasting Table (10) Tres Bohèmes (11) Flower Power Daily (12) Le Figaro (13) OSV News (14) The New York Times

Joséphine de Beauharnais

NAME Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie, later known as Joséphine Bonaparte and popularly remembered as Joséphine de Beauharnais, though this was technically the surname of her first husband rather than a name she used herself in later life 

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, which made her the first Empress of the French from May 18, 1804 until their marriage was annulled on January 10, 1810. She was also Queen consort of Italy during this period, and her descendants went on to sit on the royal thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Luxembourg.

BIRTH Joséphine was born Marie Josèphe Rose Tascher de La Pagerie on June 23, 1763, at Les Trois-Îlets, Martinique, a French colony in the Caribbean, though a persistent alternative theory places her birth at Paix Bouche, Babonneau, on the neighboring island of Saint Lucia (1)

FAMILY BACKGROUND Her father, Joseph-Gaspard Tascher de La Pagerie, was a plantation manager on Martinique and a lieutenant in the French naval marine troops who had earlier served as a page at the French royal court. The Taschers were an old but impoverished noble family, and her father was almost perpetually close to bankruptcy despite the family's aristocratic lineage.

CHILDHOOD Joséphine was the eldest of three daughters, and her family knew her by the nickname Yeyette, later going by Rose or Marie-Rose during her youth (2) 

The family endured a devastating hurricane along with chronic financial hardship, and at around age ten she was sent to a boarding school in Fort-Royal run by nuns, where she learned reading, writing, singing, dancing, and embroidery.

EDUCATION At age ten, Joséphine was sent alongside her sister to a local convent school in Fort-Royal (now Fort-de-France) run by the Bénédictines de la Providence. There she received a conventional education for young women of her social standing, learning basic reading, writing, penmanship, dancing, and embroidery over a four-year period. (3)

CAREER RECORD 1779: She relocated from Martinique to mainland France to marry Viscount Alexandre de Beauharnais, entering the French aristocratic social world.

1795: Following her release from imprisonment during the Reign of Terror, Josephine established herself as one of the prominent salon hostesses and social figures of post-Revolutionary Paris during the Directory era.

1796: She married General Napoléon Bonaparte, accompanying him during part of his Italian Campaign and serving as a diplomatic and social asset to his rising political status.

1799: Josephine acquired the Château de Malmaison, establishing it as an influential social retreat, agricultural experimental ground, and artistic sanctuary.

1804–1810: She served as Empress of the French following Napoléon's elevation to Emperor, undertaking ceremonial duties, state hosting, and extensive artistic patronage across the Empire.

1810–1814: Retained the title of Empress following her marital annulment, living in comfortable retirement at Malmaison as Duchess of Navarre and managing her estate and collections until her death.

APPEARANCE Joséphine had long legs, a slender, willowy figure, silky chestnut-brown hair, hazel eyes, and a rather sallow complexion, with a small straight nose and a well-formed mouth she habitually kept closed to hide her poor teeth.

The Duchesse d'Abrantès noted that "her teeth were frightfully bad" but that from a few paces away she still appeared young and pretty, and Joséphine reportedly trained herself to laugh with closed lips to conceal blackened teeth caused by chewing sugar cane in her youth. (4)

Empress Josephine in coronation costume in 1807–1808 by François Gérard

FASHION Joséphine was expertly groomed and devised a signature style using the flimsiest fabrics while staying just on the respectable side of propriety, helping to define the Empire style of dress. 

When her wardrobe was inventoried in 1809, she reportedly owned 666 winter dresses and 230 summer dresses, alongside only two pairs of knickers, and she took a daily bath, an unusual habit for the era. (4)

CHARACTER Josephine was among the gayest and most good-natured French women of her era, widely admired for her refined manners, tact, and diplomatic sweetness. While noted for her warmth and generosity, she was also notoriously financially irresponsible and easily prone to extravagant spending.

SPEAKING VOICE She was noted for her elegance and for a low, silvery, beautifully modulated speaking voice, which contemporaries considered one of her most attractive features alongside her graceful bearing. (5)

SENSE OF HUMOUR She had a lighthearted, pleasant sense of humor, often using gentle wit and smile-filled reserve to disarm guests and navigate delicate social and political situations smoothly. (5)

MARRIAGE TO NAPOLEON Joséphine met Napoléon Bonaparte in 1795, when he was six years younger than she was and climbing rapidly through the ranks of the revolutionary army. Their civil marriage followed on March 9, 1796, helped along, at least in part, by Joséphine's connection to the influential Paul Barras. Napoléon was captivated by her grace, her delicately turned-up nose and her long-lashed eyes—proof, perhaps, that even men who spend their lives rearranging Europe are not immune to a pretty face. It was also Napoléon who began calling her Joséphine, replacing the name Rose by which she had previously been known.

The marriage certificate was a surprisingly shaky piece of official business. Joséphine knocked four years off her age, while Napoléon added about eighteen months to his, presumably in the hope that arithmetic might make them look more suitably matched. The official conducting the ceremony was not properly authorised, and one of the witnesses was underage. It was, in short, not the sort of paperwork one would expect to survive a particularly determined audit, let alone precede the creation of an empire.

On December 2, 1804, Napoléon crowned himself Emperor at Notre-Dame, then crowned Joséphine Empress. The arrangement neatly avoided the awkward possibility of anyone else having the final say in the matter. 

But their marriage eventually ran aground on the one thing imperial ambition could not manufacture: an heir. When it became clear that Joséphine could not bear Napoléon a child, he annulled their marriage on January 10, 1810. Joséphine accepted the decision, allowing him to marry again in the hope of producing a successor. Three months later, Napoléon married Marie Louise of Austria, leaving Joséphine with the rather dubious consolation of having been Empress of the French and the considerably more enduring distinction of having been the woman who once made Napoleon Bonaparte lose his head.

RELATIONSHIPS Before Napoléon, Joséphine had been the mistress of the French Revolutionary politician Paul Barras, a member of the Directoire, who helped arrange her introduction to the future Emperor.

During their marriage she had a well-documented affair with a Hussar lieutenant, Hippolyte Charles, which infuriated Napoléon when he learned of it, while Napoléon himself pursued affairs including one with Pauline Fourès during his Egyptian campaign.

Although Joséphine had no children with Napoléon, her bloodline endures on several European thrones through her son Eugène de Beauharnais: his daughter Joséphine of Leuchtenberg married King Oscar I of Sweden, and through this line Joséphine de Beauharnais is a direct ancestor of the present-day monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the grand ducal house of Luxembourg. 

MONEY AND FAME Joséphine and Napoléon were both passionate about jewels and spent enormous sums on them, with Napoléon recovering many stones from the former French crown jewels to have reset for her (4) 

Her extravagant spending was a recurring source of tension in the marriage, and Napoléon once remarked that the only thing that ever came between them was her debts.

FOOD AND DRINK Having grown up on a Martinique sugar plantation, Joséphine retained ties to her Caribbean origins in adulthood, and she had sweet potatoes cultivated at Malmaison for her own table, helping briefly revive French interest in the vegetable around 1796 — though it never took hold widely, since France's climate wasn't well suited to the crop. (4)

MUSIC AND ARTS As Empress, Joséphine became one of the era's leading art patrons, cultivating a distinctive Consular and Empire style at Malmaison through collaborations with sculptors, painters, and interior decorators.

She commissioned major works from the Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova, including Dancer with Hands on Hips and The Three Graces, and sat for portraits and commissioned works by painters including Jacques-Louis David, François Gérard, and Antoine-Jean Gros. 

Portrait of Joséphine, c. 1809 by Antoine-Jean Gros

LITERATURE Joséphine maintained an extensive personal library at Malmaison and regularly supported contemporary authors, playwrights, and poets through literary pensions and private subscriptions.

Joséphine commissioned the botanical publication Les Roses from the artist Pierre-Joseph Redouté, produced between 1817 and 1820, which documented roses cultivated in her gardens and stands as one of the notable botanical texts of the period.

NATURE Joséphine's Château de Malmaison was celebrated for its magnificent rose garden, which she personally supervised owing to her passionate interest in roses collected from around the world, and Napoléon ordered his warship commanders to search seized vessels for plants destined for her collection. (4) 

She is credited as a pioneering patron of modern rose cultivation, sometimes called the "Godmother of modern rosomaniacs" for helping popularize vernacular cultivar names and controlled hybridization techniques.

Rosa Joséphine de Beauharnais by Salicyna 

PETS Joséphine loved exotic animals and pets. She owned a pug named Fortuné, who famously bit Napoléon on the leg on their wedding night when he tried to enter her bed. She also kept a pet orangutan that reportedly joined her for dinner at Malmaison dressed in a white cotton blouse. (4)

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Gardening and horticulture were Joséphine's abiding passions, particularly after her divorce, when she retired to the smaller court of Malmaison and devoted herself to cultivating the flowers she loved (4)

SCIENCE AND MATHS Through her collaboration with horticulturalists including André Dupont and Pierre-Joseph Redouté, Joséphine developed genuine expertise in botany and plant classification, and her garden became an important site for early controlled-pollination rose hybridization

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Joséphine was raised and remained a Roman Catholic, and her religious status became relevant when Pope Pius VII objected to crowning an imperial couple who had not undergone a religious marriage, prompting Napoléon and Joséphine to take religious vows on December 1, 1804, the day before their coronation (2)

She maintained a practical, traditional religious posture throughout her life, though her personal outlook was shaped more by Enlightenment salon culture and post-Revolutionary pragmatism.

POLITICS Though she held no official political office, Joséphine wielded significant soft power. During the Directory and the First Empire, her social tact helped smooth political tensions between royalists and republicans, making her an indispensable political asset to Napoléon.

SCANDAL During the French Revolution, her first husband was accused of poor military performance at Mainz and executed. Joséphine was imprisoned in the Carmes prison and was freed five days after his execution thanks to the fall and execution of Robespierre, which ended the Reign of Terror. 

Image by Perplexity

Joséphine's affair with Hippolyte Charles during her marriage to Napoléon became a well-known scandal that damaged the couple's relationship, and a separate incident at Château de Saint-Cloud, in which she caught Napoléon in the bedroom of one of her ladies-in-waiting, nearly ended the marriage before their coronation.

MILITARY RECORD Joséphine held no military role herself, but she was closely associated with military history through her husband's campaigns, accompanying elements of his circle to Italy in 1796 and 1797, and her son Eugène de Beauharnais frequently served alongside Napoléon on campaign,

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS She maintained her health through regular walking and outdoor leisure. Unusually for her era, she took a daily bath, a personal hygiene routine that was practically unheard of in French society at the time. (4)

Joséphine suffered a serious injury in 1798 when a balcony collapsed under her and her entourage at Plombières-les-Bains, leaving her temporarily unable to walk with a suspected broken pelvis, and she made repeated visits to the spa town in an unsuccessful effort to treat her infertility. (2)

HOMES Joséphine purchased the Château de Malmaison near Paris in 1799 while Napoléon was in Egypt, having it landscaped in an English style, and it became her primary residence both during her marriage and after her divorce, when she was styled Duchess of Navarre. 

Front view of Château de Malmaison By Pedro Faber 

TRAVEL She traveled from Martinique to France in her youth for her first marriage.

Joséphine traveled to Italy in 1796, spending roughly eighteen months there based mainly in Milan and at Château de Mombello to join Napoléon during his military campaign, and she had earlier crossed from Martinique to France in 1779.

DEATH Joséphine died at Rueil-Malmaison on May 29, 1814, of pneumonia contracted after walking with Tsar Alexander I of Russia in the gardens of Malmaison, and she was buried in the nearby Church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul in Rueil (1) Despite his remarriage, Napoléon's reported final words on his deathbed at St. Helena were "France, the Army, the Head of the Army, Joséphine" ("France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine") (4)

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Joséphine has been portrayed in dozens of historical films notably by Abel Gance's 1927 silent film Napoléon, the 1954 film Désirée (played by Merle Oberon), and Ridley Scott's 2023 biographical film Napoleon (played by Vanessa Kirby). 

She was also played by Jacqueline Bisset in the 1987 miniseries Napoléon and Joséphine: A Love Story, and by Isabella Rossellini in the 2002 miniseries Napoléon.

She has also inspired songs, including "Josephine" by The Magnetic Fields and Tori Amos, and figures in numerous documentaries such as In Search of Joséphine (2012). 

ACHIEVEMENTS Joséphine became the first Empress of the French and Queen consort of Italy

She is remembered as a pioneering patron of the arts and horticulture whose Malmaison rose collection helped shape modern rose cultivation and the Empire decorative style 

Through her children by Alexandre de Beauharnais, she became the ancestor of the present royal houses of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and the grand ducal house of Luxembourg.

Sources: (1) Wikipedia (2) Mental Floss (3) Britannica (4) Encyclopedia of Trivia (5) Château de Malmaison National Museum

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex

NAME His Royal Highness Prince Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-Windsor, Duke of Sussex — known to the world simply as Prince Harry.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Prince Harry is famous as a member of the British royal family, the younger son of King Charles III and the late Diana, Princess of Wales. He’s also known for his military service, humanitarian work, marriage to American actress Meghan Markle, and for stepping back from royal duties in 2020 to pursue a more independent life in the United States.

BIRTH Born September 15, 1984, at St. Mary's Hospital, Paddington, London, England.​ He weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces. His father, then Prince Charles, delighted the crowd outside by saying his newborn son had hair of “a sort of indeterminate color.” (1)

He was baptized on December 21, 1984, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Harry is the second son of King Charles III (formerly Prince of Wales) and Diana, Princess of Wales. His older brother is Prince William, Prince of Wales. He is the grandson of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Through his mother, Harry is descended from the Spencer family, one of Britain's most prominent aristocratic families.​

CHILDHOOD Harry's childhood was marked by intense public scrutiny and profound tragedy. He grew up primarily at Kensington Palace in London, where his mother Diana was determined to give him and William as normal a childhood as possible, including visits to theme parks, fast food restaurants, and homeless shelters. 

Diana affectionately called him “my little Spencer” because his red hair came from her side of the family. 

He grew up with a love of animals and had a pony named Smokey. (1)

His parents separated in 1992 and divorced in 1996. 

The defining moment of his childhood came on August 31, 1997, when his mother Princess Diana died in a car crash in Paris. Harry was just 12 years old and at Balmoral Castle with his father when he received the devastating news. He famously walked behind his mother's coffin at her funeral, an image that became one of the most iconic and heartbreaking of the late 20th century.​

EDUCATION Harry attended Mrs. Mynors' Nursery School in Notting Hill and Wetherby Pre-preparatory School for his early education. He then moved to Ludgrove School in Berkshire as a boarder from age eight. 

At 13, he attended Eton College near Windsor, following the Spencer family tradition — both his maternal grandfather and uncle had been students there. He achieved 11 GCSEs and two A-levels (a B in Art and a D in Geography). 

Unlike his brother, Harry did not attend university. Instead, he took a gap year working on a cattle station in Australia and volunteering at an orphanage in Lesotho, Africa. 

He subsequently entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in May 2005 for officer training.​

CAREER RECORD 2005-2015 British Army Officer, rising to the rank of Captain.

2005-2020 Working Royal, undertaking numerous official duties, engagements, and tours in support of the Queen and various charities.

2006 Co-founder of Sentebale, a charity supporting children and young people affected by HIV/AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.

2014 Founder of the Invictus Games

2020 Stepped back from being a working royal

2020 Co-founder of Archewell Inc., a for-profit and non-profit organization focused on impact through work across various sectors, including media and charitable initiatives.

2021 Chief Impact Officer for BetterUp, a mental health and coaching company.

APPEARANCE Harry is noted for his distinctive red hair, inherited from the Spencer family line, which became one of his most recognizable features. He has blue eyes, fair skin, and stands tall with an athletic build. He is typically seen with a beard, which he began sporting heavily after his first tour of Afghanistan.

In recent years, he has shown signs of male pattern baldness, similar to his brother William and father Charles.​​

Harry in 2019 by Ministerie van Defensie

FASHION Harry's fashion evolution has been significant. During his time as a working royal, he favored traditional Savile Row suits for formal occasions and military uniforms. For casual wear, he surprisingly sourced much of his wardrobe from discount retailer T.K. Maxx (T.J. Maxx in the US), as revealed in his memoir Spare. 

Since relocating to California, his style has transformed considerably, incorporating designer pieces from Christian Dior, Giorgio Armani, and Loro Piana. He now embraces a more relaxed California aesthetic with casual elegance, though he maintains classic British tailoring for formal events. His wardrobe includes polo attire, outdoor gear, and contemporary menswear that reflects his new lifestyle.​

CHARACTER Harry is widely described as warm, compassionate, and down-to-earth. His military service deepened his sense of purpose and empathy, particularly for those dealing with trauma or loss. He has also been candid about his struggles with grief and mental health, earning praise for his honesty.

Body language experts note that he wears his heart on his sleeve and displays genuine emotions, unlike his more reserved brother William. However, his character has also been shaped by trauma from his mother's death, leading to periods of anger, substance use, and emotional struggles that he has openly discussed. He is passionate, sometimes impulsive, and willing to challenge convention.​​

SPEAKING VOICE Harry speaks with a modern upper-class British accent known as Standard Southern British (SSB), which is less formal than the traditional Received Pronunciation of his father's generation. His accent is described as having a "magical magnetism" with emotional resonance reminiscent of his mother Diana. (2)

Since moving to California, linguistic experts have noted subtle shifts in his pronunciation, with occasional Americanisms creeping in. His voice is characterized as warm, husky, and informal, with genuine emotional inflection that connects with listeners.​​

SENSE OF HUMOUR Harry is widely known for his cheeky, playful sense of humour and practical jokes. He has consistently demonstrated a goofy, self-deprecating side that endears him to the public. 

Notable humorous moments include convincing Queen Elizabeth to participate in a video with President Obama to promote the Invictus Games, making funny faces on the Buckingham Palace balcony as a child, and more recently, juggling in the background of Meghan's 40th birthday video.

Royal watchers note his natural rapport with children and his capacity to lighten serious situations with wit.​​

RELATIONSHIPS Harry’s romantic life was long the subject of public fascination. Before marrying, Harry had two notable long-term relationships: with Chelsy Davy (on and off from 2004-2011), whom he met during his gap year in South Africa, and with Cressida Bonas (2012-2014), introduced by his cousin Princess Eugenie. Both previous relationships ended due to the intense media scrutiny. 

Harry first met American actress Meghan Markle through mutual friends in 2016 and began dating shortly after. The press first reported their relationship in October 2016, and the couple announced their engagement on November 27, 2017. They married on May 19, 2018, at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, becoming the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. 

The couple has two children: Prince Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, born May 6, 2019, and Princess Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, born June 4, 2021. 

In January 2020, the couple announced they would step back from senior royal duties and move toward financial independence, ultimately relocating to North America.

Harry's family relationships have become strained since stepping back from royal duties, particularly with his brother William and father Charles, though he has maintained some connection with his father.​

One of his nicknames among friends and security staff is Spike. The origin of the nickname comes from Harry's gap year in Australia in 2003, when he was photographed with an echidna that was also named Spike. A friend noticed the resemblance between the animal and Harry's spiky hairstyle at the time, and the nickname stuck

MONEY AND FAME Prince Harry's wealth comes from multiple sources: inheritance from Princess Diana and the Queen Mother, a reported $20 million advance for his memoir Spare, a $100 million Netflix deal with Meghan, a previous $20 million Spotify deal (now ended), and his role as Chief Impact Officer at BetterUp. 

After stepping back from royal duties, Harry lost access to the Sovereign Grant and inherited royal security, leading to substantial security costs estimated at $2-6 million annually. 

His fame remains global, though it has become more controversial since his departure from royal life and public criticism of his family.​ Prince Harry has frequently spoken about the immense pressure and difficulty of growing up in the global spotlight and the negative impact of the relentless media scrutiny.

FOOD AND DRINK Harry's diet has evolved significantly, particularly after meeting Meghan. As a child and young adult, he enjoyed typical comfort foods like pizza, burgers, mixed grills, and sweets, with a particular fondness for banana-based desserts. Meghan introduced him to "clean eating," incorporating kale, quinoa, fruit and vegetable smoothies, and reducing processed foods and carbohydrates. Before his 2018 wedding, he reportedly lost over seven pounds following this new diet and gave up pizza, though he admitted to occasionally indulging. (3)

The couple uses a high-end juicer, and Meghan has reportedly encouraged him to reduce meat consumption. Harry is believed to enjoy traditional British fare such as roast chicken and shepherd’s pie, but has adapted to a more health-conscious California lifestyle.​

Harry prefers drinking tea, preferably ginger tea, with honey and lemon rather than with milk. 

MUSIC AND ARTS Harry has diverse musical tastes spanning electronic music (he is known to be a fan of producer Skream), contemporary pop, and classic artists. He and Meghan have attended concerts by Beyoncé multiple times, James Taylor, and other performers. 

For his wedding, family friend Elton John performed in recognition of Harry's close relationship with the singer and his late mother Diana. 

Harry played piano, trumpet, and drums as a child but couldn't read music. 

Harry supports organizations that use music and performance as therapy for veterans and young people, a reflection of his passion for mental health advocacy.

While at Eton, he studied Art achieving a B in his A-Level.

LITERATURE Harry is the author of the international bestselling memoir Spare, published in January 2023 and ghostwritten by J.R. Moehringer. The 416-page book became the fastest-selling non-fiction book of all time according to Guinness World Records, selling 1.4 million copies in its first day across the UK, US, and Canada. It topped the New York Times bestseller list and Amazon's 2023 bestseller list. The memoir candidly discusses his childhood, military service, mother's death, relationship with the royal family, and life with Meghan. Harry has stated he originally wrote 800 pages but edited substantially to protect certain family secrets. 

First edition

Harry is an avid reader of memoirs and psychology books. Earlier in life, he reportedly preferred action and adventure novels and was known for sharing books about leadership and courage with his military comrades.

He also supports literacy charities and has emphasized the importance of reading, particularly for children.​

NATURE Harry has maintained a deep, decades-long commitment to wildlife conservation, particularly in Africa. He has been involved with African Parks since 2016, serving as president for six years before joining the board of directors in 2023. 

In 2016, he participated in one of the largest elephant translocations in history, helping move 500 elephants in Malawi. 

He has worked extensively in countries including Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Botswana, Lesotho and Chad (though the Chad partnership ended in 2025). His love of Africa stems from his gap year experiences and has remained a core passion throughout his life.​

Harry supports environmental initiatives and sustainability causes, often highlighting the importance of protecting wildlife and natural habitats for future generations. He’s spoken passionately about protecting endangered species and tackling climate change, calling the planet’s health “the most important issue we face.” 

PETS Animals have always been a major part of Harry’s life. He grew up around dogs, particularly his mother Princess Diana’s beloved pets, and as an adult he’s continued that tradition. Harry and Meghan have three dogs that Harry describes as "emotional support dogs": a black Labrador named Pula (adopted in 2018), and two rescue Beagles—Guy (whom Meghan owned before their marriage) and Mia (short for Mamma Mia), adopted from the Beagle Freedom Project in August 2022. Harry joked that he "basically has five children" due to the three dogs running around their California home. 

The couple specifically requested an older dog when adopting Mia, demonstrating their commitment to animal welfare. 

Meghan chose animal welfare charity Mayhew as one of her patronages during her time as a working royal, and Harry has frequently been photographed with dogs throughout his life.​

Harry's affection for horses also stems from his time in the Household Cavalry and polo—a sport he has played since youth.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS Harry is passionate about multiple sports, with polo being particularly significant—he plays competitively and uses the sport to raise funds for charity through events like the Sentebale Cup. 

He also enjoys rugby (serving as patron of the Welsh Rugby Football Union), skiing, off-road motorbiking, and hiking. 

Harry maintains an athletic lifestyle and has been a member of exclusive gyms. 

Other outdoor hobbies include bird watching, walking his dogs, and swimming. He enjoys spending active time with family, including his nieces and nephews. 

is enthusiasm for sport led him to create the Invictus Games in 2014, an international sporting event for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women—one of his proudest achievements.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Harry actively supports charities advancing medical science, particularly in mental health research and physical rehabilitation. Through the Invictus Games and his work with WellChild, he has championed scientific approaches to recovery and wellness. 

His advocacy for mental health has included promoting therapeutic techniques like EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) and discussing the role of brain health in psychological well-being. 

Harry's curiosity about technology has grown in recent years, especially through projects like Travalyst, his eco-travel initiative. He has shown interest in data-driven approaches to sustainability and social change, often referencing how measurable impact and evidence-based research shape his philanthropic work.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Harry was baptized and raised in the Church of England, the official Christian church of the British monarchy. However, in his memoir Spare, he revealed that he is "not religious" in the traditional sense. 

Harry and Megan on Christmas Day 2017 by Mark Jones - Cropped from Flickr 

After wearing a Nazi costume to a party in 2005, he met with Britain's chief rabbi and learned from religious philosophers about the roots of hatred and evil. 

Harry has explored spirituality through various means, including therapy and psychedelic experiences, which he described as healing rather than recreational. He has referenced the Serenity Prayer and engaged with spiritual texts. 

His approach to mental health—encouraging openness and vulnerability—reflects a modern spiritual sensibility rooted in empathy rather than ceremony.

POLITICS As a member of the royal family, Harry was constitutionally barred from British party politics. However, since stepping back from royal duties, he has become more vocal about political and social issues, including mental health, racial justice, media responsibility, online safety, and misinformation. 

SCANDAL Harry has been involved in several major scandals throughout his life. As a teenager, he admitted to smoking marijuana and drinking, leading his father to arrange a visit to a drug rehabilitation center. 

In 2005, at age 20, he wore a Nazi Afrika Korps uniform with a swastika armband to a costume party, causing international outrage and requiring a public apology—an incident he later called "one of the biggest mistakes of my life".

 In 2009, a video surfaced from 2006 showing him using racial slurs toward a fellow officer. 

In 2012, photos were published of him playing strip billiards naked in a Las Vegas hotel room. 

His decision with Meghan to step back from senior royal duties—dubbed “Megxit”—sparked a media storm and public debate about modern monarchy, privacy, and race.

More recently, his candid revelations about the royal family in interviews with Oprah Winfrey, the Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, and his memoir Spare have been considered scandalous by many, including his acknowledgment of killing 25 Taliban fighters and his criticisms of family members.​

MILITARY RECORD Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on May 8, 2005 There, he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, a modest title for someone whose grandmother happened to be on the coins. Assigned to the Alamein Company, he spent eleven months being shouted at, polished within an inch of his life, and transformed from prince into officer.

He graduated in April 2006 and joined The Blues and Royals, one of those impressively titled regiments that sounds like it should come with its own brass band. His first tour of Afghanistan, in 2007–2008, lasted ten weeks—ten weeks spent crouched in the dust of Helmand Province as a forward air controller, directing airstrikes on Taliban positions. It was all very brave and serious until the media found out where he was, at which point the Army whisked him home before every tabloid in London tried to make Afghanistan their next front page.

Not to be deterred, Harry retrained as an Apache helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps, proving he could not only take the heat but fly above it. He returned to Afghanistan for a second 20-week tour between September 2012 and January 2013, this time at the controls of a machine capable of firing rockets and inspiring Hollywood screenplays.

After a brief secondment to the Australian military, where he traded desert dust for red soil and kangaroos, Harry left the Army in June 2015 with the rank of Captain—a decade older, infinitely more seasoned, and sporting the sort of calm steadiness that only comes from facing real danger. His years of service earned him both military honors and a lifelong devotion to the welfare of veterans, which culminated in his founding of the Invictus Games—an international sporting event that celebrates resilience over rank.

Even after stepping back from royal duties, it’s this period of Harry’s life—gritty, human, and far removed from palace pomp—that continues to define him. For all the ceremony of his birthright, it was the Army that gave him something more valuable than a title: purpose.

Prince Harry May 2015 by Eva Rinaldi from Sydney Australia

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS He is in good physical shape, evidenced by his military service and sporting activities. Harry has become a prominent advocate for mental health, speaking openly about his own struggles with grief, trauma, and anxiety, particularly after his mother's death, and his reliance on therapy.

He has undergone various therapeutic approaches including traditional talk therapy, EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), and guided psychedelic therapy with substances like ayahuasca and psilocybin. Harry credits therapy with saving his marriage and helping him become a better parent. 

HOMES Harry has lived in several residences throughout his life. As a child, he lived at Kensington Palace in London. 

After his marriage, he and Meghan initially lived at Nottingham Cottage on the Kensington Palace grounds. They later moved to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, a Grade II listed property that was extensively renovated at a cost of £2.4 million (later repaid by the couple). In 2023, they officially relinquished Frogmore Cottage after being asked to vacate by King Charles

In 2020, after stepping back from royal duties, they relocated to California, eventually purchasing a $14.65 million mansion in Montecito, Santa Barbara County. The Montecito estate spans 7.4 acres with nine bedrooms, 16 bathrooms, a guesthouse, teahouse, tennis court, swimming pool, rose gardens, and a chicken coop. 

TRAVEL Harry has traveled extensively throughout his life, both for royal duties and personal causes. He has a particular affinity for Africa, having first visited during his gap year and returning numerous times for conservation work in countries including Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Chad. 

Botswana holds special significance—he took Meghan there for their second date, and they have returned multiple times. 

As a working royal, Harry undertook Commonwealth tours and official visits to countries including Australia, New Zealand, Morocco, and the United States. 

He has traveled for the Invictus Games, which has been held in London, Orlando, Toronto, Sydney, The Hague, Düsseldorf, and most recently Vancouver. 

His current base in California allows for frequent travel within the United States while maintaining connections to the UK and Europe.​

As co-founder of Travalyst, he continues to advocate for sustainable tourism and environmental responsibility.

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Harry has been the subject of intense media coverage throughout his life and has appeared in numerous documentaries and programs. 

Recent major media projects include:

He appeared in the Apple TV+ docuseries The Me You Can't See (2021) co-produced with Oprah Winfrey, focusing on mental health

The Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan (2022), which he co-produced with Meghan, offering their perspective on royal life and their departure from it. 

He narrated the 15-hour audiobook version of his memoir Spare (2023). 

Harry gave landmark interviews to Oprah Winfrey (2021), Anderson Cooper on 60 Minutes (2023), Tom Bradby for ITV (2023), and Stephen Colbert's The Late Show (2023). 

Netflix also released a documentary series about polo that Harry produced in 2024. 

He has been portrayed in dramatizations including The Crown and has been the subject of countless news reports and royal documentaries throughout his life.​​

ACHIEVEMENTS Founder of the Invictus Games (2014)

Co-founder of the Heads Together mental health initiative

Established the Archewell Foundation with Meghan Markle

Recipient of multiple honorary military distinctions and humanitarian awards

Author of the best-selling memoir Spare (2023)

Recognized globally for his service, advocacy, and commitment to veterans and mental health causes

Sources: (1) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (2) The English Accent Tutor (3) Hello 

Eleanor of Aquitaine

NAME Eleanor of Aquitaine (Aliénor d'Aquitaine), also known as Eleanor of Guyenne.

WHAT FAMOUS FOR Eleanor was one of the most powerful women of the Middle Ages. She was Duchess of Aquitaine, Queen of France (1137–1152), and Queen of England (1154–1189). She was a patron of the arts, a political leader, and the mother of three kings and two queens

BIRTH Eleanor was born around 1122 in Poitiers or Bordeaux, southwestern France, into the House of Poitiers, a lineage of powerful dukes.

FAMILY BACKGROUND Eleanor was the eldest daughter of William X, Duke of Aquitaine, and Aenor de Châtellerault. Her paternal grandfather, William IX, was a famous troubadour duke. Upon her father's death in 1137, Eleanor, aged about 15, inherited the vast and wealthy Duchy of Aquitaine, making her the most eligible heiress in Europe.

CHILDHOOD She grew up in the sophisticated and cultured court of Aquitaine, known for its patronage of poets and musicians (troubadours). Her childhood ended abruptly with her father's death while on pilgrimage, instantly making her Duchess and leading to her swift betrothal to the heir to the French throne.

EDUCATION Eleanor received an excellent education for a high-ranking noblewoman of her time. She was certainly literate (likely in Latin and her vernacular Occitan/French), well-versed in music, literature (especially the poetry of the troubadours), and courtly pursuits. She would have been trained in estate management and understood the politics of her duchy. Her training in governance and courtly arts prepared her to rule Aquitaine independently.

CAREER RECORD 1137 – 1204 Duchess of Aquitaine (ruled directly or influenced rule throughout this period)

1137 – 1152 Queen  of France: 1137 – 1152

1147-1149 Participant in the Second Crusade

1154 – 1189 Queen of England 

1189-1204 Queen Mother

APPEARANCE Contemporary chroniclers praised Eleanor as “beautiful, graceful, dark-eyed, and colourful,” a description romanticized in medieval literature. Her striking presence captivated courts across Europe.

No contemporary portraits of Eleanor exist. Later descriptions and her tomb effigy depict her as tall and intelligent-looking. Some sources suggest she may have had reddish-auburn hair. 

Queen Eleanor Frederick Sandys, 1858 National Museum Cardiff

FASHION As Duchess of Aquitaine and Queen of two realms, Eleanor was a leader of fashion. The Aquitainian court was known for its richer colours and styles compared to the more austere northern French court. She would have worn the typical attire of 12th-century high nobility: long gowns (like the bliaut), tunics, elaborate belts, and mantles, likely made from fine wools, silks, and adorned with embroidery or fur. She is credited with bringing more colourful and luxurious southern styles north. Her style influenced courtly dress across France and England.

CHARACTER Eleanor is consistently portrayed as highly intelligent, strong-willed, energetic, politically astute, and possessing great personal charm. She was also known for her determination, ambition, and passionate nature. Depending on the chronicler (and their allegiance), she could also be described as manipulative, troublesome, or impulsive. She was fiercely protective of her rights and her children's inheritance. (2)

A German poet’s tribute—“I’d give all away. If the English Queen Would be mine for a day”—hints at her magnetic charm. (1)

SPEAKING VOICE  As an educated noblewoman fluent in several languages (Occitan, Old French, Latin) and accustomed to commanding courts and negotiating politics, she likely possessed a clear, articulate, and persuasive voice. Eleanor’s eloquence is inferred from her diplomatic successes. 

SENSE OF HUMOUR Eleanor’s wit sharpened her political maneuvers. She famously quipped that Louis VII was “more of a monk than a man,” mocking his piety and lack of passion. (1

RELATIONSHIPS Eleanor married Louis VII on July 25, 1137, at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux. The union was arranged shortly after her father's death, as Eleanor became Duchess of Aquitaine, one of the wealthiest and most powerful territories in France. Her marriage to Louis brought Aquitaine under the French crown and elevated her to Queen of France when Louis ascended the throne later that year. 

Gemini's image of Eleanor and Louis' wedding

The marriage was troubled from the start due to their vastly different personalities—Eleanor was lively and headstrong, while Louis was deeply pious and monkish. Their union produced two daughters, Marie and Alix, but failed to yield a male heir. Eleanor accompanied Louis on the Second Crusade (1147–1149), where rumors of an affair with her uncle Raymond of Antioch further strained their relationship.

By 1152, their marriage was annulled on the grounds of consanguinity (they were third cousins), a decision likely influenced by Eleanor's failure to produce a son. Eleanor regained control of Aquitaine but lost custody of her daughters, who remained in the French court. The annulment marked one of history's most expensive royal divorces due to the loss of Aquitaine from the French crown. (3)

Just eight weeks after her annulment from Louis VII, Eleanor married Henry Plantagenet, Duke of Normandy and Count of Anjou, on May 18, 1152, in a modest ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint‑Pierre in Poitiers. This marriage was politically advantageous for both parties: it united Aquitaine with Henry’s territories in Normandy and Anjou, creating a vast Anglo-French domain that surrounded much of Louis VII’s possessions. Henry would later ascend to the English throne as King Henry II in 1154. (3)

The union between Eleanor and Henry was far more dynamic than her first marriage. Both were intelligent, ambitious, and strong-willed, which led to both passionate collaboration and intense conflict. Together they had eight children—five sons (including Richard the Lionheart and John) and three daughters—cementing Eleanor’s legacy as a matriarch of European royalty.

14th-century depiction of Henry and Eleanor holding court

However, their marriage deteriorated over time due to Henry’s infidelity and Eleanor’s increasing autonomy in ruling Aquitaine. In 1173, she supported her sons’ rebellion against Henry, leading to her imprisonment for 16 years until his death in 1189. 

Eleanor had complex relationships with her children, often using her influence to advance their positions. She was particularly close to Richard I and actively secured the throne for John after Richard's death.

Eleanor’s marriages were not just personal unions but strategic alliances that reshaped medieval Europe. Her first marriage linked Aquitaine to France temporarily, while her second established the Angevin Empire and positioned her as one of the most influential women in history.

MONEY AND FAME Eleanor was immensely wealthy through her inheritance of Aquitaine, which comprised a huge territory in southwestern France, richer and larger than the direct domains of the King of France at the time. This wealth gave her significant power and independence. She was famous across Christendom as Duchess, Queen of two kingdoms, Crusader, and mother of kings. 

The Sunday Times later dubbed Eleanor “the richest woman of the Millennium”. (1)

FOOD AND DRINK Eleanor would have enjoyed a rich and varied diet. This included game, poultry, beef, pork, fish (especially on religious fast days), fine breads, cheeses, seasonal fruits and vegetables, often heavily spiced (spices were a luxury). Wine, particularly from her native Aquitaine, would have been a staple drink. Feasts and banquets were common court events. 

MUSIC AND ARTS Eleanor was a major patron of music and the arts. Her grandfather was a noted troubadour, and she continued this tradition, supporting poets, musicians, and storytellers at her courts in Aquitaine, Paris, and later England. She played a significant role in the flourishing of courtly love literature and culture.

LITERATURE Eleanor's patronage fostered the creation of literary works, particularly the lyric poetry of the troubadours and trouvères, and early chivalric romances. She was literate herself and likely enjoyed listening to and reading these works.

Eleanor championed the matière de Bretagne, Arthurian legends popularized by Chrétien de Troyes. Her court’s “Code of Love” codified romantic etiquette, influencing medieval literature. (2)

NATURE Eleanor’s domains spanned Aquitaine’s lush vineyards and forests, which she managed meticulously. Her travels through Europe’s diverse landscapes, from the Pyrenees to Jerusalem, deepened her appreciation for nature’s grandeur.

PETS High-ranking nobles typically kept pets such as dogs (for hunting, companionship, and lap dogs) and sometimes birds like parrots or falcons for hunting. It's likely Eleanor had such animals at her courts.

HOBBIES AND SPORTS An avid equestrian, Eleanor hunted stag and hawked well into her 70s. 

Eleanor with hawk and stag Gemini

At 78, she crossed the Pyrenees to secure a bride for John, showcasing her physical endurance.

SCIENCE AND MATHS Her education included arithmetic and astronomy, skills applied in managing Aquitaine’s economy and navigating crusader routes.

QUEEN Eleanor of Aquitaine was, by any measure, a woman several centuries ahead of her time—brilliant, determined, and with an uncanny knack for acquiring thrones. She became Queen of France on July 25, 1137, when she married Louis VII at the Cathedral of Saint-André in Bordeaux. The whole thing was orchestrated by Louis’s father, King Louis VI, whose main interest in the match was Eleanor’s vast duchy of Aquitaine—rich, sprawling, and inconveniently independent. Unfortunately for him, and for France, the marriage turned out to be rather less successful than the land grab.

Eleanor was intelligent, politically shrewd, and fond of lively company. Louis, on the other hand, was deeply religious, contemplative, and about as much fun as a damp monastery. Tension was inevitable. They had two daughters, but no male heir, which in the grand medieval tradition of blaming women for biology, was deemed a serious failing. Things took a nosedive when Eleanor accompanied Louis on the Second Crusade (1147–1149). There, she scandalized half of Christendom by insisting on riding about in full armor and, more worryingly for Louis, spending an inordinate amount of time with her uncle Raymond of Antioch, a man charming enough to make any husband nervous.

By the time they got back to France, the marriage was beyond saving. In March 1152, the whole thing was quietly annulled on the grounds of consanguinity (a handy medieval excuse meaning “we just noticed we’re distant cousins, how embarrassing”). Louis got to keep their daughters, but Eleanor kept Aquitaine, which—crucially—meant she was still the most eligible bachelorette in Europe.

And she wasted no time. Just eight weeks later, she married Henry Plantagenet, the ambitious young Duke of Normandy, on May 18, 1152. This was a spectacularly good career move. Henry became King of England two years later, and Eleanor found herself queen once again—this time of an empire that stretched from the Scottish border to the Pyrenees. It was all going splendidly for a while: she and Henry had eight children, including the future kings Richard the Lionheart and John (who would later lose most of England’s continental possessions in a fit of spectacular incompetence).

But marriage to Henry proved no easier than marriage to Louis. Henry was brilliant but unfaithful, and Eleanor, rather sensibly, preferred not to spend her life being publicly humiliated. By 1173, she was actively supporting a rebellion against him, led by their own sons. It didn’t go well. Henry won, Eleanor was arrested, and she spent the next 16 years imprisoned in various English castles—presumably with plenty of time to reflect on her life choices.

She was finally released in 1189, when Henry inconveniently died, and Richard the Lionheart took the throne. Eleanor, proving she still had plenty of political savvy left, essentially ran England in Richard’s absence while he was off crusading. She even arranged for his ransom when he was captured, a situation that might have been deeply embarrassing if it weren’t so absurdly expensive.

By the time she died in 1204 at the impressive age of 82, Eleanor had ruled as Queen of France, Queen of England, and the de facto leader of an empire. Not bad for someone whose first husband thought she was just a useful piece of land.

PHILOSOPHY & THEOLOGY Eleanor lived within the framework of 12th-century Catholic Christianity. While demonstrating conventional piety, her life shows a strong pragmatic and political focus rather than deep theological speculation. She navigated complex Church politics, including the conflict between Henry II and Thomas Becket.

Her crusade experiences in Antioch and Jerusalem exposed her to diverse spiritual perspectives, though she remained a pragmatic ruler.

POLITICS Eleanor was a major political figure for over 60 years. She administered Aquitaine, influenced policies in France and England, engaged in diplomacy, managed dynastic alliances through her children's marriages, supported her sons' rebellion against Henry II, acted as regent for Richard I, and played a crucial role in securing the succession for John.

SCANDAL Several events caused scandal or rumour:

Her conduct during the Second Crusade, particularly alleged closeness with her uncle, Raymond of Antioch (likely exaggerated by critics).

The annulment of her marriage to Louis VII.   

Her open rebellion against her second husband, Henry II, leading to her long imprisonment.   

Her association with the "Courts of Love" (whose historical reality is debated) was seen by some as promoting ideas contrary to Church doctrine.

MILITARY RECORD Eleanor of Aquitaine’s participation in the Second Crusade (1147–1149) was a defining chapter in her life, marked by bold decisions, political tensions, and enduring myths. 

Eleanor formally took the cross during Bernard of Clairvaux’s fiery sermon at the Council of Vézelay on March 31, 1146, alongside her husband Louis VII of France. The event, orchestrated to rally support for the crusade after the fall of Edessa (1144), saw Louis, Eleanor, and French nobles prostrate themselves before Bernard to receive the pilgrims’ cross. This act symbolized her commitment to the crusade, though her motivations likely blended piety, political strategy (supporting her uncle Raymond in Antioch), and personal ambition. 

Taking the Cross (Sébastien Mamerot c. 1490 )

Legends claim Eleanor led 300 noblewomen dressed as Amazons and a retinue of Aquitainian knights. While chroniclers like William of Tyre amplified these stories, modern historians (e.g., Conor Kostick) note such accounts are exaggerated or conflated with troubadour tales. The crusade’s chroniclers often blamed women for logistical burdens, but Eleanor’s actual role was more pragmatic: securing Aquitainian support and leveraging her status as Duchess. (4)

Eleanor clashed with Louis over military strategy. In Antioch (1148), she sided with her uncle Raymond’s plan to attack Aleppo, while Louis insisted on prioritizing Jerusalem. This rift fueled rumors of infidelity and led Louis to forcibly remove her from Antioch.

During the Battle of Mount Cadmus (January 1148), poor decisions by the vanguard commander (Geoffrey de Rancon, Eleanor’s vassal) led to heavy French losses. Critics blamed Eleanor for the baggage train’s size and her detachment’s absence from the fight, though Louis’ weak leadership was the primary issue.

The crusade ended in failure after the disastrous siege of Damascus (July 1148). By 1149, Eleanor and Louis returned separately to France, their marriage irreparably damaged. The annulment (1152) and her subsequent marriage to Henry II of England reshaped European politics

Later, as regent for Richard, she played a key role in raising his ransom and securing England against rebellion, demonstrating strategic acumen. She defended her own lands in Aquitaine at various times

HEALTH AND PHYSICAL FITNESS Eleanor lived to be around 82 years old, an exceptionally long lifespan for the period. This indicates a fundamentally strong constitution. She endured the physical hardships of numerous childbirths, extensive travel on horseback and by sea (including the Crusade), and years of imprisonment, remaining politically active into her late seventies/early eighties

HOMES As Duchess and Queen, Eleanor resided in numerous castles and palaces, including:

Palaces in Poitiers and Bordeaux (Aquitaine)

Palais de la Cité (Paris)

Tower of London, Westminster Palace, Winchester Castle (England)

Various castles in Normandy and Anjou (e.g., Chinon, Rouen) She was imprisoned in various locations, including Salisbury Castle and Chinon Castle. She spent her final years and died at Fontevraud Abbey.   

TRAVEL Eleanor of Aquitaine was exceptionally well-traveled for her time, covering vast distances across medieval Europe and beyond. As both Queen of France and later Queen of England, she frequently moved between the two realms, navigating the complex politics of both courts. Her extensive travels were not merely ceremonial; they were essential to maintaining her influence and securing her lands.

One of her most notable journeys took place during the Second Crusade (1147–1149), when she traveled to the Holy Land via an overland route through Europe and Byzantium. Unlike many noblewomen of the era, Eleanor did not simply remain behind while her husband, Louis VII, went to war—she insisted on accompanying him, leading a retinue of Aquitainian soldiers and even reportedly dressing in armor at times. 

Eleanor may have also traveled to Rome, or at the very least, sent envoys there to handle political and ecclesiastical matters. As a woman deeply involved in diplomacy, she understood the importance of maintaining strong ties with the papacy, especially during times of conflict with her husbands and later, during her sons' reigns.

Perhaps her most famous travels occurred later in life when she worked to secure the release of her son, Richard the Lionheart, who had been captured and held for ransom in Germany in 1192. She personally oversaw the negotiations and may have even traveled into German territories to ensure his safe return. At nearly 70 years old, this would have been a remarkable undertaking.

Travel in the medieval world was arduous and often dangerous, with long journeys undertaken primarily on horseback, in a litter, or by ship. Yet Eleanor, undeterred by hardship, remained one of the most mobile and politically active figures of her time, using her journeys to shape the course of European history. 

DEATH Eleanor died on April 1, 1204, at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou, where she had taken the veil as a nun in her final years. She outlived all but two of her children.

Eleanor was buried in the abbey church alongside her second husband, Henry II, and her son Richard I.  Her tomb effigy, depicting her reading a book, symbolizes her lifelong dedication to learning.

Eleanor of Aquitaine's tomb effigy by Adam Bishop , Wikipedia

APPEARANCES IN MEDIA Eleanor has been a popular figure in historical fiction, theatre, and film. Notable portrayals include:

Katharine Hepburn's Oscar-winning portrayal in the film The Lion in Winter (1968), focusing on her relationship with Henry II and their sons. Hepburn is the only person to win an Academy Award for portraying a relative — she was a direct descendant of Eleanor of Aquitaine,

Glenn Close in the 2003 television remake of The Lion in Winter.   

Numerous historical novels depict her life and era including Sharon Kay Penman’s Plantagenet Saga and Alison Weir’s biographies. She is often portrayed as intelligent, powerful, and manipulative.

ACHIEVEMENTS Preserved Aquitaine’s independence through strategic marriages and rebellions.

Patronized troubadour culture, shaping medieval literature and music.

Governed as regent during Richard I’s reign, stabilizing England’s political landscape.

Mediated peace between England and France, securing John’s succession.

Established a legacy of female leadership in a male-dominated era

Sources (1) Encyclopaedia of Trivia (2) Britannica (3) The Creative Historian (4) Medievalists