Diary of a Somebody Trivia Quiz

Answer: Constanze Weber

Constanze Weber's 'sweetie' was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart had known the three Weber sisters for some time and his affections were first pinned on the older sister, Aloysia. Aloysia, however, was not interested in Mozart romantically, and when Mozart boarded at Frau Weber's house in 1781, 18-year-old Constanze caught his eye and he fell in love. Constanze was a lively maiden, with as great a capacity for silliness as her jealous suitor. Their courtship hit a reef in April, 1782, when Constanze, never noted for her modesty, allowed a young man to measure her calves at a party. Mozart was furious and broke off the relationship. It's apparent that Constanze won him over because the couple married in August 1782 and went on to have six children.

Anne Boleyn was far too canny to play fast and loose with her royal sweetie. She knew she could lose her head if she crossed Henry VIII.

Nell Gwynn's sweetie was Charles II and he probably wouldn't have cared if someone measured her calves since Nell was only one of the many women with whom Charles carried on romantic relationships (he wasn't called the Merry Monarch for nothing, you know!)

Fanny Brawne was John Keats' 'bright particular star' and it's highly unlikely that anybody, including John, got to measure Fanny's calves.

Answer: Matilda of Flanders

William the Conqueror's proposal of marriage was spurned by the haughty Matilda, daughter of the Count of Flanders. She told his emissaries that she was above marrying a man born out of wedlock, no matter how powerful a duke he might be. William, who had a temper and did not take kindly to Matilda's insults, as reported by those same emissaries, promptly rode 'ventre a terre' from Normandy into Flanders, and whipped Matilda in the presence of her servants. Matilda gave in, married him and, surprisingly, their marriage was happy and fruitful, which was not the norm for royal alliances in the eleventh century.

If anyone had ever taken a whip to Eleanor of Aquitaine, the most powerful woman in 12th century Europe, she'd have whipped him in return. It is highly unlikely that Henry V ever accorded his French bride Katherine of Valois such brutal treatment, and Joan of Arc was too busy saving France to have time for romantic entanglements with any man, brutal or otherwise.

Answer: Cleopatra

Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, formed a romantic attachment to Julius Caesar when he showed up in Egypt (indeed, she bore Caesar a son, Caesarion). When Caesar returned to Rome, so the story goes, Cleopatra had herself rolled up in a magnificent carpet which was then dispatched as a gift to Caesar. There is no record of the look on Calpurnia's face when her husband opened his gift to reveal his teenage mistress!

The Queen of Sheba did not present herself to Solomon rolled up in a carpet, Heloise d'Argenteuil, an intellectual, would have thought such shenanigans ridiculous and so would her equally-intellectual lover, Peter Abelard. Lady Caroline Lamb, who was nuts about Lord Byron (who treated her like dirt), did not think of this clever ploy to get the attention of the object of her affections.

Answer: Emma Hamilton

Emma Hamilton, wife of the British Ambassador to Naples, Sir William Hamilton, met Admiral Horatio Nelson when he put into port in 1793. She fell madly in love with him, as he did with her. Their affair scandalized the British, but not enough to ruin Nelson's career. He was, after all, Britain's greatest naval commander. I've often wondered why Emma went overboard for Nelson. When they met he was 40 years old, missing one arm and most of his teeth, and was hardly the romantic and dashing hero of dreams. Still, the affair lasted until his death in 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Fulvia was the first wife of Mark Antony and seems to have been one of those managing, politically-motivated women who would have thought herself far above such romantic behaviour as that indulged in by Emma Hamilton.

Thorgunna was the daughter of the Lord of the Hebrides and the mother of Leif Eriksson's only child. Not much else is known about her.

Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII, was in love with England's Lord High Admiral, Sir Thomas Seymour, when she married Henry. She had to wait until Bluff King Hal cashed in his chips before she could marry the man she truly loved.

Answer: Eva Duarte

Eva Duarte, born in 1919 in Junin, Argentina, was the illegitimate daughter of Juan Duarte, a wealthy rancher, and his mistress Juana Ibarguren. In 1934, at the age of 15, Eva headed for the bright lights of Buenos Aries to pursue a career as a singer and actress. She never really made it much above starlet status but landed the greatest role of her life in 1944 when she met Juan Peron, then-Secretary of Labour in the Argentinian government. The couple married in 1946, the year in which Peron became President of Argentina. Until her death in 1952, Eva was her husband's right-hand woman and exerted a beneficial influence on him. She was adored by the Argentinian people who called her Evita (hence the name of Andrew Lloyd Weber's highly-romanticized musical based on her life).

Imelda Marcos is better known for her shoe collection than her efforts on behalf of the people of the Philippines who lived under the flamboyant dictatorship of her husband, Ferdinand Marcos. Marta Miranda was the wife of Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban dictator ousted by Fidel Castro, and Simone Ovide was the wife of Francois (Papa Doc) Duvalier and the mother of Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier, who succeeded his father as dictator of Haiti until he was forced into exile.

Answer: Ingrid Bergman

Ingrid Bergman's torrid romance with Italian director Roberto Rossellini set tongues wagging throughout the film world and beyond. The couple met in 1949 when Ingrid starred in Rossellini's film 'Stromboli'. Both were married when they met. Ingrid was one of the most admired movie stars in the world, and when she bore Rossellini a son out of wedlock in 1950, the gossip mills went into overdrive. The couple married in 1950 but by 1957, and after the birth of twins Isabella and Isotta, the sparks ceased to fly and the couple divorced. Footnote: the fellow who fulminated against Bergman on the floor of the US Senate was Edwin C. Johnson (D-Col). In 1972 Senator Charles Percy (R-Ill) entered into the Congressional Record an apology to Bergman for Johnson's attack. Wouldn't you think that there would be more important matters occupying the Senate in 1972 - the war in Vietnam, civil unrest at home, the Watergate scandal come to mind - than apologizing for a 22-year-old insult?

Elizabeth Taylor's Roman romance was Richard Burton, whom she met while filming 'Cleopatra' in Italy. Free-spirited Isadora Duncan had more passion for dance than for any one man (although she did offer to bear George Bernard Shaw's child because she was convinced the child would have his mother's beauty and his father's brain. GBS turned down the offer, snorting, "The only worse possibility is that the child would have my beauty and your brain.") and Sarah Bernhardt, while she had her share of lovers, wasn't about to sacrifice her brilliant acting career for love.

Answer: Debbie Reynolds

When film producer Mike Todd, third husband of Elizabeth Taylor, was killed in a plane crash in 1958, his best friend Eddie Fisher rushed to Taylor's side with his wife Debbie Reynolds in tow. The Widow Todd, we're told, was prostrate with grief. Eddie fell under the spell of those famous violet eyes and before you could say "Husband Number Four' the crooner abandoned his wife of four years and married Elizabeth Taylor. He, in turn, was dumped by the lovely Liz when she fell under the spell of Richard Burton's green eyes (Burton and Taylor married for the first time in 1964). Reynolds and Taylor later repaired their rift and in 2001 they co-starred in 'These Old Broads', a made-for-TV movie written by Debbie's and Eddie's daughter Carrie Fisher. In one memorable scene they discuss 'Freddie', the loser to whom they had both been married. Ah, art imitates life!

Anne Isabella Milbanke was the wife of Lord Byron and, despite his numerous affairs, remained so and survived her philandering husband. It is doubtful she ever comforted any of Byron's amours for any reason.

Camilla Parker-Bowles' former husband is still very much alive.

Louisa May Alcott never married. She didn't have time for romance, what with supporting her parents and siblings with the proceeds from her writing, and all.

Answer: Evelyn Nesbit

Evelyn Nesbit was an artist's model and actress and former lover of wealthy architect Stanford White. White discarded his aging mistress (she was, after all, in her late teens and he liked younger women!) after a four year affair. In 1905, 20-year-old Nesbit married the very wealthy Harry Kendall Thaw. Harry was an unstable, moody son-of-a-gun who carried a pistol everywhere he went. He nurtured a bitter jealousy of White. In 1906, Thaw encountered White in a New York nightclub and shot him three times in the face, killing him instantly. Some of the horrified onlookers reported that Thaw screamed "You ruined my wife!" as he fired at White, while others said that they heard Thaw yell, "You ruined my life!" Thaw was quickly arrested and arraigned for trial. He pleaded temporary insanity. His mother promised Evelyn that if she would testify that White had raped her, and then give Harry a divorce, 'Mother Thaw' would deposit one million dollars in Evelyn's bank account. Harry got off, got his divorce, and Evelyn was cut off. She never saw a cent of the promised pay off.

Matilda Ludwell was the first wife of one of George Washington's generals, Lighthorse Harry Lee, Bess Rahner was the wife of Harry Houdini, and Jill Goodacre is married to Harry Connick Jr. None of these Harrys ever shot anyone (Lighthorse Harry Lee no doubt did shoot people during the American Revolution, but that was nothing to do with Matilda) and their mothers never promised Matilda, Bess or Jill a million dollars if they would divorce their husbands. Matilda predeceased Harry Lee, Bess survived Houdini and Jill is happily raising three little girls with her Harry.

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

The marriage of Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine and King Henry II of England was unusual by 12th century standards. Heck, it would be unusual by 21st century standards! For starters, after divorcing Louis VII of France, Eleanor literally commanded Henry to marry her, despite the fact that she was 12 years his senior. Henry, no slouch when it came to the main chance, readily complied. After all, Eleanor was the most powerful woman in Europe, enormously wealthy and a great beauty, too. The marriage was primarily a matter of political expediency but it produced a brood of children (among them Richard I and King John of ill repute). Henry was involved in a number of discreet affairs, to which Eleanor turned a blind eye, until Henry fell headlong for Rosamund Clifford and was anything but discreet. Eleanor, not one to suffer in silence, is reputed to have put paid to Rosamund's existence by poisoning her, and that in turn put paid to the royal marriage! If you want to know more about Eleanor, look her up. Her life story makes good reading! (You could also rent the 'The Lion in Winter', a marvellous movie starring Peter O'Toole and Katharine Hepburn as Henry and Eleanor.)

Eleanor Roosevelt, a dignified woman if ever there was one, knew about Franklin's dalliance with Lucy Mercer but remained loyal to her husband and did not poison Lucy.

Jerry Hall no doubt knew about Mick Jagger's lights o' love but since she had been one of them when he was still married to Bianca, she didn't have much cause for complaint.

Margaret of Anjou's only rival was God! She was the wife of the extremely pious and slightly dotty King Henry VI, who was too heavenly-minded to have much use for the earthier passions.

Answer: Ninette de Valois

Ninette de Valois, a powerful force in the world of ballet was born Edris Stannus in County Wicklow, Ireland. A gifted dancer, she was also a gifted administrator and founded not only the Royal Ballet Company and School, but also the Birmingham Ballet and was an instrumental force in the careers of such talents as Margot Fonteyn (nee Peggy Hookham), Alicia Markova (nee Lillian Alicia Marks), Moira Shearer (nee Moira Shearer), Robert Helpmann (ne Robert Helpman - he added the extra 'n' so that his name would not have 13 letters!), Rudolf Nureyev (ne Rudolf Nureyev), and other leading lights of the ballet world.

Anna Pavlova (nee Anna Pavlova) was a world-renowned Russian ballerina who was already established as a star before Ninette de Valois changed her name from Edris Stannus.