Love stories of all time

We love love stories (at least the majority that I personally know!). Some have happy endings others don’t. Some are made into a song, a movie, a TV drama, a play, a musical, etc. Love stories can be funny, wholesome, dirty, lachrymal, or happy and tragic. The following are famous love stories that will continue to fascinate man to the very end.

Anthony and Cleopatra. Cleopatra VII was the brilliant and beautiful last Pharaoh of Egypt. Although often described as a femme fatale, Cleopatra was religious and studied to be a nun. She was a skilled politician, mathematician and a linguist fluent in nine languages. Cleopatra married her younger brother Ptolemy and she became the mistress of the Roman General Julius Caesar. After Caesar’s death, Roman General Marc Anthony went to Egypt to advance the power of Rome. However, Anthony fell in love with Cleopatra causing scandal in Roman society. Despite the risks, the lovers got married and planned to conquer Rome. The Roman General Octavian defeated the couple in the battle of Actium. Hearing a false report that Cleopatra died, Anthony fell on his sword. Cleopatra, on the other hand, induced a poisonous asp to bite her.

Abelard and Heloise. Around 1100, Peter Abelard went to Paris to study at the school of Notre Dame. He became known as an outstanding philosopher. Fulbert, the canon of Notre Dame, hired Abelard to tutor his niece, Heloise. However, the two fell deeply in love, conceived a child and secretly got married. Upon learning of what happened, Fulbert became so furious that Abelard sent Heloise to safety in a convent. Thinking that Abelard planned to abandon his niece, Fulbert asked his servants to castrate Abelard while he was asleep. Abelard became a monk and devoted his life to learning. Heartbroken, Heloise became a nun. Despite their separation and trials, they remained in love with each other. Their love letters were later published.

Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal. In 1612, the teenage Arjumand Banu married 15-year-old Shah Jahan, ruler of the Mughal Empire. Arjumand Banu was renamed Mumtaz Mahal. She bore 14 children and became the ruler’s favorite wife. Mumtaz died in 1629 and the emperor created a monument for her. It took 20,000 workers and 1,000 elephants nearly 20 years to complete this monument — the Taj Mahal. It was built of white marble and sits on a sandstone platform. A 137-foot high dome tops the mausoleum. The interior is decorated in lapiz lazuli, turquoise, agate, jasper and colored marble while the exterior is paved with semiprecious stones that sparkle in the sun. The surrounding garden contains four water channels representing the four rivers of Islamic paradise. After Shah Jahan was deposed by his son, he was incarcerated in the Red Fort of Agra and spent lonely hours staring across the Jamuna River at the monument of his beloved queen. He was buried beside her in the Taj Mahal.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. Queen Victoria ascended the throne of England in 1837 after the death of her uncle, King William IV. In 1840, she married her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. The couple had nine children. The Queen loved her husband deeply. She always asked for his advice in matters of state especially in diplomacy. Victoria was devastated when her husband died in 1861. She did not appear in public for three years that resulted in criticism. Several attempts were made on her life but under the influence of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, Queen Victoria resumed her public life, opening Parliament in 1866. However, she never stopped mourning for her beloved prince. She wore black until her death in 1901, 40 years after her husband’s death. Her reign is the longest in English history.

Elizabeth and Robert Browning. The love story of two legendary poets, Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning, contains all the elements — a secret courtship, elopement, love poems and the beautiful Italian landscape. Elizabeth published a book, Poems, in 1844. The work greatly impressed Browning and he began a correspondence. The two later met and fell in love. Elizabeth’s father was against the relationship forcing the lovers to elope in 1846 and later fled to Italy where they lived and worked for 15 years. Much of their work was inspired by their own romance. After Elizabeth’s death in 1861, Robert returned to England where he continued to write until his own death in 1889.

I know of a couple whose love story is just as fascinating. It was a case of love at first sight. They met at an office where the girl works. He was waiting for a friend who happens to be the best friend of the girl. Unlike the boys the girl has met before, he was different. He wore his hair long with head-band, tight fitting maong jeans and baby-pink long sleeves. He wore rubber slippers that exposed his beautiful feet. She asked for his name and address. And soon after he left, she sent him flowers. After a week, he became her boyfriend. It was a beautiful relationship. They eloped and marriage was set. The girl, however, did not believe in marriage thus she left him. Fifteen years after, they met again, and today, they are happy together.