Uncrowned Queens Trivia Quiz

Answer: Portugal

Inês de Castro (1325-1355) came from a noble family of Galicia (now in northwestern Spain) with connections to the royal family of Castile, although from the illegitimate side. She came to Portugal in 1340, at the age of 15, to be a lady-in-waiting to Constance of Castile, the wife of Infante Pedro, the heir apparent to the Portuguese throne. The 20-year-old Pedro fell madly in love with Inês, neglecting his wife and angering his father, King Afonso IV, who tried to separate the lovers without success. When Constance died in 1349, Pedro refused to marry again: in the meantime, Inês and the prince had four children. The king then decided to have the young woman assassinated. Inês was killed in 1355 - allegedly in front of her children - while residing at a monastery in Coimbra.

Enraged and devastated, Pedro revolted against his father, and eventually succeeded him in 1357. He also took his revenge on his beloved's assassins, having them bloodily executed. A few years later he legitimized his children, claiming that he and Inês had been married in secret. According to a popular legend, Pedro had Inês's body exhumed, crowned and dressed in rich clothing, then placed on a throne, forcing his vassals to kiss her hand. The unfortunate young woman's body was later buried at the Monastery of Alcobaça in the magnificent Gothic tomb shown in the photo - where the recumbent effigy of Inês de Castro is crowned by an angel. Pedro's equally stunning tomb is located opposite hers.

Answer: Hundred Years' War

Born around 1422 from a minor noble family, when still very young Agnès Sorel became a lady-in-waiting to Duchess Isabella of Lorraine, consort of René I of Anjou, King of Naples. It is said that she first met Charles VII when she was 20 or 21, dazzling him (who was almost 20 years her senior) with her beauty. She soon became his mistress, and was given public recognition as his favourite (which caused much scandal) - as well as riches, lands and the Château of Loches, in the Loire Valley. Her likeness was captured in several works of art - first and foremost, Jean Fouquet's "Melun Diptychwhere she is depicted as the Virgin nursing the infant Jesus, with one breast bared. Though Agnès was known for favouring low-cut gowns, it is highly unlikely that she ever went even partially topless in public.

The "Dame de Beauté" (Lady of Beauty) exerted a strong influence on the king, allegedly persuading him to drive the English from French soil and recapture Normandy. Unfortunately, Charles's son and heir, Louis (the future Louis XI), bitterly resented Agnès, which caused a deep rift between father and son. When the young woman - who had given the king four daughters - suddenly became ill and died in 1450 at the age of 28, there was speculation that Louis had had her poisoned. Indeed, though originally her cause of death was believed to have been dysentery, it has been suggested that she died of mercury poisoning. She is buried in the church of St Ours in Loches.

None of the three conflicts mentioned as wrong answers took place in the 15th century.

Answer: Catherine de' Medici

Diane de Poitiers (c. 1499-1566) had many of the qualities that would be admired in modern times. She was educated in a wide variety of subjects that included finance and law as well as classical languages, a keen athlete who loved swimming and riding, and a patron of the arts who also successfully managed her sizable estates. Married at 15 to the much older French nobleman Louis de Brézé, Grand Seneschal of Normandy, she was widowed in 1531, and adopted the habit of wearing only black and white - the colours of the moon, with which the Roman goddess Diana, her namesake, was associated. Diane had been lady-in-waiting to several French queens since her marriage, and it was in this capacity that she first met the future Henry II - also in 1531.

Henry had been married to Florentine noblewoman Catherine de' Medici for about a year when, in 1534, Diane became his mistress. He was 15 years old, while she was 35 - a beautiful, sophisticated and wealthy woman, who would remain at his side until his death in a jousting accident in 1559. Henry's attachment to Diane caused friction between him and his father, Francis I, though the two reconciled in 1545, two years before Henry's ascension to the throne. Unlike other royal mistresses, Diane did not try to alienate Henry from his wife; she was also the king's most trusted advisor, and was given charge of the education of the king's children.

Catherine de' Medici was deeply jealous of the beautiful, accomplished Diane, but had to put up with the situation until the king's untimely death - when she retaliated against her rival by forcing Diane to give up her beloved Château de Chenonceau in exchange for a less attractive property. Diane, who was said to have kept her good looks well into her fifties, died in 1566 at the Château d'Anet, inherited from her husband, where she is buried.

Mary, Queen of Scots, was Henry II's daughter-in-law. Margaret of Anjou was the consort of Henry VI of England, while Joanna of Castile was the daughter of Isabella and Ferdinand, the Catholic monarchs.

Answer: actress

Charles II, the Merry Monarch, was a notorious womanizer. His liaisons with ladies from all walks of life were legion: in addition to a number of official mistresses, he had many other affairs on the side, fathering at least 12 children. Some of these relationships lasted for a long time, such as the one with Barbara Villiers, Countess of Castlemaine - a beautiful but greedy and temperamental woman, whose penchant for promiscuity eventually led to her downfall. While Barbara was still his chief mistress, Charles met young actress Eleanor "Nell" Gwyn (c.1650-1687), with whom he began an affair in 1668.

Pretty, vivacious and quick-witted, Nell was the daughter of an alcoholic brothel-keeper, and may have been a prostitute herself as a child. At the time when her relationship with the king began, she was one of London's most prominent actresses. She never married, and remained close to the king until his death in 1685, in spite of his taking other mistresses - such as French noblewoman Louise de Kéroualle, who was her arch-rival for many years. However, while Louise (a Catholic) was deeply unpopular with the people, Nell became a sort of folk heroine. She had two sons with the king, both of them acknowledged and granted noble titles (which, instead, she never was).

Though still relatively young, in 1687 Nell suffered two strokes (probably due to her having contracted syphilis earlier in life), and died in November of that year. She was buried in the church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, now in London's Trafalgar Square.

Answer: she was involved in the Affair of the Poisons

Born in 1640 from a prominent aristocratic family, Françoise-Athenaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise of Montespan, fully deserves the title of "uncrowned queen". Radiantly beautiful (she was, as the painting in the photo shows, a natural blonde), witty and ambitious, at the age of 20 she became a maid of honour to Princess Henrietta, Louis XIV's sister-in-law; three years later, she married the Marquis de Montespan. The couple were active participants in court life, which allowed the young marquise's beauty and wit to shine. In 1667, she managed to catch the king's ever-roving eye, supplanting the shy, kind-hearted Louise de la Vallière as his "maîtresse-en-titre" (official mistress). Her affair with the Sun King produced seven children, six of whom were later legitimized.

During her tenure as Louis XIV's favourite, Madame de Montespan ruled over the court - which at the time had not yet moved permanently to the magnificent Palace of Versailles - surrounding herself with every kind of luxury. Her hold on the king lasted for over ten years, until she allegedly became implicated in the murder scandal known as the Affair of the Poisons, which erupted in 1677. Though Madame de Montespan's active involvement has never been conclusively proved, suspicion of having caused a rival's death by poisoning, as well as her relationship with notorious fortune-teller (and suspected witch) Catherine Malvoisin, were enough to bring about her downfall. There were even rumours of her having taken part in a black mass.

Ironically, Madame de Montespan was replaced in the king's affections by Françoise d'Aubigné, the governess of Montespan's royal offspring - who later became Madame de Maintenon, and Louis XIV's morganatic wife in 1683. Madame de Montespan eventually left the court in 1891, and retired first to a convent, then to the Château d'Oiron, where she spent the final years of her life in severe penance. She died in 1707, at the age of 67.

Answer: Poisson

Probably the most famous royal mistress in history, Madame de Pompadour was born at the end of 1721 with the name of Jeanne Antoinette Poisson. Her family, though not part of the aristocracy, was very wealthy, which allowed Jeanne Antoinette to receive an excellent education and develop a love for the arts. At the age of 20, she was married to financier Charles-Guillame De Normant d'Etiolles, and quickly became the star of the Paris salons thanks to her beauty, wit and intelligence. In 1744, she contrived to catch the eye of King Louis XV - as much a ladies' man as his predecessor, the Sun King - during a hunt near her estate. At a masked ball in February 1745, the king - disguised as a tree - declared his feelings to Jeanne Antoinette, who shortly afterwards became his official mistress. She was also given the title of Marquise de Pompadour, with an estate purchased by the king expressly for her.

With her keen intelligence, Madame de Pompadour sought the favour of the royal family, including the king's wife, Maria Lescszynska - whose lady-in-waiting she eventually became. During her tenure as royal mistress, she was the most powerful woman in France, the king's most trusted advisor in matters of foreign and domestic policy. Though her sexual relationship with Louis XV ended around 1750, mainly because of the marquise's poor health, she assumed the role of "friend of the king" - which she remained until her untimely death from tuberculosis in 1764, at the age of 42.

Madame de Pompadour is remembered as a patron of the arts, associated with the Rococo style that flourished in the mid-18th century: she is also believed to have collaborated with a number of artists, in particular François Boucher, who painted many portraits of her.

Poisson means "fish" in French, while "poison" (which has a slightly different pronunciation) has the same meaning as in English - hence the hint in the question. As to the other options: "oiseau" means bird, "vache" means cow, and "cochon" means pig.

Answer: Ireland

The daughter of a military officer, Eliza Rosanna Gilbert was born in County Sligo, Ireland. When she was about 2 years old, the Gilbert family moved to India, where Eliza's father died of cholera, and her mother remarried. The young girl grew up willful and spoiled, and was sent back to England for her education. In 1837, at the age of sixteen, she eloped with Lieutenant Thomas James, from whom she separated five years later. It was then that she became a professional dancer, passing herself as Spanish and taking the stage name of Lola Montez. When she moved to Europe, she found success, as well as a slew of wealthy patrons; her lovers included the equally notorious pianist and composer Franz Liszt.

In 1846, Lola arrived in Munich, then the capital of the Kingdom of Bavaria, where she became the mistress of King Ludwig I. The king, captivated by her, granted her the title of Countess of Landsfeld. However, Lola was deeply unpopular with her lover's subjects because of her arrogance and unpredictable temper, as well as her political influence. The revolution of 1848 put an end to Lola's tenure as the king's mistress and counselor: Ludwig I was forced to abdicate, and Lola had to flee Bavaria. She eventually settled in London and married again, but the relationship did not last long.

In 1851, Lola decided to leave Europe behind and settle in the United States, where she resumed her career as a dancer, with mixed results. She spent her final years living quietly in New York, where she died of syphilis in 1861, at the age of 39. She is buried in Green Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn.

Answer: photography

Born in Florence in 1837 from a minor noble family, Virginia Oldoini Rapallini was nicknamed "Nicchia" (a diminutive form of Virginia) as a child. At the age of 17, she married Francesco Verasis, Count of Castiglione, with whom she had a son. A woman of outstanding beauty, with eyes that changed colour from green to blue-violet, she was also well-educated and spoke several languages besides her native Italian. Because of that, as well as her society connections, in 1856 - just after the end of the Crimean War - she was secretly contacted by an emissary of Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia (and future first King of Italy) for a special mission in Paris. Virginia's cousin, Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, was the King's prime minister, who was laying the groundwork for Italian unification,

Virginia's arrival in Paris caused a sensation, and Emperor Napoleon III was immediately taken with her. Though their relationship was relatively short-lived, it left its mark on Parisian society, and led Virginia's husband to separate from her, taking their son with him. The beautiful Countess was not subtle in her behaviour: her over-the-top exploits (which included appearing in public in a semi-transparent dress) would have made any modern celebrity jealous. She also made an enemy of Napoleon's wife, Empress Eugénie, whom Virginia suspected of an attempt on her life. After the end of her affair with the Emperor, she continued her career as a secret agent on behalf of the Kingdom of Sardinia, as well as engaging in numerous affairs with important men - including Victor Emmanuel II himself.

Though still relatively young, Virginia started declining after her mother's death in 1872. Extremely vain of her appearance, she refused to accept the inevitability of aging, and became a recluse in her Paris apartment, from which all mirrors were banished. She died of a stroke in 1899, at the age of 62, and is buried in the famed Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Virginia first became interested in photography in 1856, when she often sat for Paris photographers Meyer and Pierson. Many of the 700 photographs produced during this collaboration - which the countess financed herself - depict her in theatrical or court dress, while some show her bare legs and feet with her head cropped out.

Answer: Alexander II

Ekaterina Dolgorukova (1847-1922) came from an aristocratic though impoverished Russian family related to the Romanovs. The beautiful young girl first met Tsar Alexander II in 1859, when she was 12 years old. The Emperor was 41, nearly 30 years her senior, and married to Marie of Hesse (Empress Maria), with whom he had eight children. When Ekaterina's father died, Alexander paid for her and her siblings' education. He later arranged for her to became a lady-in-waiting to his wife, who had been sick with tuberculosis since 1863. Although Alexander was smitten with Ekaterina, she resisted his advances until the summer of 1866 - after the Tsar, who was in mourning for the death of his eldest son and heir, Tsarevich Nicholas, had survived the first of a number of attempts on his life.

Alexander and Ekaterina had a passionate relationship (as revealed by the letters they exchanged), which produced four children. Although they strove to keep their relationship a secret, both the Tsar's family and the court were aware (and disapproving) of it. As Ekaterina was known to have liberal ideas, some were afraid she might influence the Emperor's views, or even try to supplant the Empress. Shortly after Maria died in June 1880, Alexander married Ekaterina - a decision that was extremely unpopular with the Russian people, even though the marriage was morganatic (meaning that the couple's children were excluded from the line of succession). She was given the title of Princess Yurievskaya, and her children by the Tsar were legitimized.

Alexander and Ekaterina's relationship ended tragically when the Tsar was gruesomely assassinated in a bombing attack on 13 March 1881. Shunned and humiliated by her husband's family, Ekaterina eventually left Russia and moved to France, where she spent the rest of her life. She died in 1922, at the age of 62, and is buried in the Russian Cemetery in Nice.

Answer: Camilla Shand

Alice Frederica Edmonstone was born in 1868 from a family of the British aristocracy; her father, a baronet, was also a retired admiral of the Royal Navy. In 1891, the 23-year-old Alice married Lieutenant Colonel George Keppel, the third son of the 7th Earl of Albemarle, with whom she had two daughters. In order to keep up with the expensive lifestyle of London high society, Alice engaged in affairs with wealthy men: her husband was aware of this, but did not mind, as he was sure of the bond of mutual affection between him and Alice.

One of London's most renowned hostesses, the beautiful, witty and good-hearted Alice met Edward, Prince of Wales - a notorious womanizer who was 27 years her senior - in 1898, and soon afterwards became his mistress. Their relationship lasted until his death in 1910, after only nine years on the throne of the United Kingdom. Alice had a positive influence on Edward, and was liked by everyone at court (including Edward's Queen consort, Alexandra) because of her kind nature. Edward trusted her completely, and she often mediated between the king and his ministers.

However, she was not equally successful in persuading the king to take better care of his health. She was with him when he died, and openly displayed her grief at his passing. After Edward's death, the Keppels left England, and in 1925 settled in Florence, Italy, where they bought a beautiful villa. Alice and George Keppel died in 1947, within two and a half months of each other. They are both buried in the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori in Florence.

Camilla, Queen consort of the United Kingdom, was born in 1947 as Camilla Rosemary Shand. She married Charles, Prince of Wales (now King Charles III) in 2005, after having been in an on-and-off relationship with him for a long time. Alice Keppel was the maternal grandmother of Queen Camilla's mother, Rosemary Cubitt.