Tag: marry

The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 and its Impact Upon Modern Royals

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King George III married for dynastic reasons but his 2 brothers each married commoners would had been married before. George found this unacceptable as it brought the royal family disrepute. In 1772, George passed the Royal Marriages Act which stated that a monarch is permitted to decide who members of their family marry. This new law disrupted royal marriages for over 200 years, perhaps most famously in the case of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. Princess Margaret also experienced problems because of this law as she was forced to ask her sister Queen Elizabeth for permission to marry a commoner as well. The royal family considered anyone not royal to be a commoner despite their wealth, fame, or aristocratic title

The Art Collection of King George IV

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King George IV’s excessive consumption was completely out of synchronization with his income with George IV needing to rely upon the British parliament multiple times to bail him out of financial ruin. George IV’s over spending was so bad that parliament actually forced him to marry in exchange for hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of debts to be forgiven. Although George IV is thought of as extravagant and profligatory, the truth is that the combined value of his collection equates to an average modern day value of £10,000,000 (£10 million) for every £1000.00 George IV spent during the 19th century. It should be noted that this large gain is due primarily to the intrinsic and irreplaceable value of the items as £1000.00 in 1800 would only be worth £83,000 as of 2019 when accounting for inflation

Maria Gunning; The Woman Who Was Thought to be the Most Beautiful Woman in London, England During the 16th Century

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George William Coventry, the 6th Earl of Coventry, married Maria Gunning who was said to be the most beautiful woman in London, England, so beautiful in fact that grown men claim to have fainted when in her presence. Gunning wore a heavy layer of lead and mercury based makeup which caused blood poisoning and began to eat away at her skin. It is reported that Gunning only had the light of a tea kettle in her room, because she was so devastated by the damage done to her face by the makeup she wore. Venetian Ceruse, also referred to as “Spirits of Saturn”, was the 16th century cosmetic skin whitening agent which Gunning used. Venetian Ceruse was in great demand and considered the best available cosmetic during the era. The problem with lead and mercury based cosmetological products is that this compound contains acids which eat away at the skin and cause further blemishes which then in turn require even more concealer be used, causing a vicious cyclical scenario (e.g. further blemishes lead to more makeup, and more makeup, leads to ever further blemishes). It is believed that Queen Elizabeth I also used Venetian Ceruse to achieve her iconic pale beauty standard

The Reason the Catholic Church Requires Celibacy for Spiritual Leaders

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There is no basis in scripture for celibacy, in fact there is evidence to support that Jesus Christ was married as well as his 12 apostles, with the probable exception of John. The first several dozen popes were married and had children, and celibacy is not found within the Catholic faith until the 4th century, the very same time in which sexual abuse and misconduct against children began to take place in respect to written recorded history (it is unclear as to the actual starting point as records do not exist beyond this timeframe). Celibacy was developed and demanded due to finance, as married priests automatically passed down their wealth to their firstborn son, as was the customary practice of primogeniture, but if said priest had no heirs, their wealth went directly to the church

Women’s Rights During the Renaissance

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During the Renaissance, rape was not recognized in the contextual mindscape that it is today. Rape was seen as a dishonorable stamp upon the family and the family’s name of the victim. If rape occurred, it was not uncommon for the offender to marry the victim, therefore making the act acceptable within the eyes of the family, the court, and as was thought at the time, in the eyes of God. Rape of a woman who was no longer a virgin was essentially considered not to be a crime, however rape of a woman who was a virgin, was considered to be very serious until sorted out. It was not uncommon for an aggressor to pay a dowry to the victim and her family so that she could marry another man, if the offender had no interest in marrying said victim. Dowries were considered unideal but an acceptable practice during this period. A daughters virginity being intact was viewed as a significant financial gain towards the women’s family as it was customary to receive a sizeable dowry when she became married. A notable historical example of this ideology is directly correlated to the incredibly talented Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who was raped by a painter her father Orazio who was also a famous painter, commissioned to teach his daughter the art of sketching using proper perspective and dimension