Can a Man Turn His Head? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anne Boleyn

King Henry VIII (1491-1547) had his head turned by Anne Boleyn (1501-1536) despite being married at the time to Catherine of Aragon (1485-1536). Unfortunately, Catherine has failed to produce Henry with a male heir: her only child to survive was Mary, who in due course became Queen of England from 1553 until her death in 1558. Having become infatuated with Anne, Henry divorced Catherine (leading to the English Church breaking with the Catholic Church) and married Anne in 1532. Sadly, she also failed to produce a male heir, leading to her execution in 1536.

Answer: Elizabeth Taylor

The actress Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) famously turned the head of Richard Burton (1925-84) during the filming of "Cleopatra", in which she played the title role and he played her lover Mark Antony. Each was already married at the time (Taylor to Eddie Fisher and Burton to Sybil Williams) and their very public affair was a big scandal at the time. They married in 1964 and divorced in 1974, only to hitch up again the following year. This second marriage only lasted a year, however, and they split up again in 1975.

Answer: Frida Kahlo

The Mexican painter Diego Rivera (1886-1957) had his head turned by his fellow artist Frida Kahlo (1907-54) in 1928, when they met at a party. She was unmarried but he was already into his second marriage. They married in 1929 and had a stormy relationship, characterised by infidelities on both sides. Eventually they got divorced in 1939, but then remarried the following year and stayed together until her death in 1954.

Answer: Mary Godwin

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was married to Harriet (nee Westbrook) when he met Mary Godwin (1797-1851), daughter of William Godwin and his late wife Mary Wollstonecraft. He quickly became obsessed with her and they eloped to Europe, although he remained married to Harriet until the latter drowned herself in the Serpentine in 1816.

In 1822 Percy himself drowned when the boat he was in sank during a storm while they were in Italy. Mary returned to England and remained there until her death at the age of 53.

Answer: Héloïse d'Argenteuil

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) was an early French philosopher who had his head turned by the young Héloïse d'Argenteuil (1100-64), an educated and intellectual lady at a time when this was unusual for women. They fell in love and married in secret, but her uncle opposed the match and (when he found out about it) sent a group of men to attack Abelard and castrate him. Abelard retired to a monastery and Héloïse became a nun.

They continued to write to each other, however, and their letters are still read and studied today.

Answer: Mumtaz Mahal

Shah Jahan I (1592-1666) was a Mughal emperor who ruled over most of the Indian sub-continent between 1628 and 1658. As was usual at the time, he had several wives, some of which he married for political reasons rather than love. But he was genuinely fond of one of his wives, Mumtaz Mahal, who he married in 1612. Sadly, she died in childbirth at the age of 38 in 1631, and her husband famously ordered the construction of the Taj Mahal as her tomb.

He himself was buried next to her on his own death.

Answer: Catherine Middleton

Prince William had his head turned by Catherine Middleton in around 2002 when they were both students at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, when she appeared at a charity fashion show wearing a see-through lace dress. They began dating formally in 2003 and became engaged to be married in 2010.

Their wedding took place at Westminster Abbey on 29 April 2011. As at 2024, they have three children: George, Charlotte and Louis.

Answer: Joanne Woodward

Hollywood stars are not generally known for having long-lasting marriages, but there are exceptions. One of these was the marriage of Paul Newman (1925-2008) and Joanne Woodward (b. 1930), which lasted for 50 years, from 1958 until his death in 2008. They first met in 1953 when appearing together on stage in the play "Picnic" by William Inge.

At the time Newman was already married, to Jackie Witte, but divorced her in order to marry Woodward. They managed to combine successive careers with a happy family life, having three daughters together.

Answer: Alma Schindler

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911) was already a world-famous conductor when he had his head turned by the young Alma Schindler (1879-1964) at a party in 1901. At the time Alma was having an affair with the composer Alexander von Zemlinsky, and for a while managed to keep relationships with him and Mahler going simultaneously, but eventually Mahler won the day, and they married in 1902.

Their marriage was tempestuous, although Mahler in particular was deeply in love with his wife. In 1910 she began an affair with the architect Walter Gropius, although following Mahler's death in 1912 she dropped Gropius and began a relationship with the painter Oskar Kokoschka instead.

Answer: Jacqueline Bouvier

John F. Kennedy (1917-63) was a young congressman when he met Jacqueline Bouvier (1929-94) at a dinner party in 1952. It was a whirlwind romance, and they announced their engagement in June 1953 and were married in September that same year. John's political career was starting to take off, and when he was inaugurated as president in 1960 Jackie became one of the most famous women in the world.

Their marriage famously ended in tragedy when John was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963. In 1968 she married the Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis.