Stately Mates: Match The Consort Quiz

Answer: Marie Antoinette

Of course, Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were king and queen of France at the time of the French Revolution. He was a reluctant king, who was more interested in maps, ships, and locks, and she was a spoiled socialite. While his job was to help guide the French through financial problems, hers was to produce a male heir. Neither one of those things happened as quickly at the French people expected.

After a failed attempt to flee France once the revolution began, Louis and his family were seen as enemies of the state. Both husband and wife eventually fell victim to the guillotine.

Answer: Isabella

Known as the Catholic monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, of course, are most famous for sponsoring the voyages of Christopher Columbus, which ultimately led to the "discovery" of the Americas. Most historians agree that the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile unified Spain in 1469.

While they are known for the harsh treatment of their own people who were suspected of heresy, their sponsorship of Columbus did give Spain a brief period of European domination and superiority due to the wealth that was found in the New World.

Answer: Nefertiti

Members of the famous Eighteenth Dynasty that included rulers such as Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, Akhenaten and Nefertiti are known today for beginning a religious revolution in ancient Egypt. Their attempt to change the polytheistic religion to the worship of one god, Aten, failed, and it appears that after Akhenaten died there was a quick, successful attempt to restore the old beliefs.

It has been well-documented that Akhenaten and Nefertiti were the parents of six daughters; he did, however, have other consorts.

While it has been determined that Akhenaten was the father of Tutankaten, there is still discussion as to who his mother could have been. Some historians believe that Nefertiti ruled Egypt for a short time after her husband's death as Neferneferuaten before Tutankaten became king.

Answer: Victoria

Albert and Victoria were first cousins who met and corresponded before she became Queen. After she became Queen, however, Victoria was the one who had to propose to Albert! Even though she was the monarch, it is said that Victoria relied heavily on her husband, and at sometimes they ruled jointly, especially during the 17-year period when the Queen gave birth to nine children. Albert was also an avid reformer and innovator; he led reform movements in education and was also interested in science and industry.

His untimely death at the age of forty-two left the Queen in perpetual mourning for the remainder of her life.

Answer: Cleopatra

Why, you may ask, is Cleopatra's match Marc Antony and not Julius Caesar? Well, Caesar never married her! Of course, when Marc Antony began his famous association with Cleopatra, he was married to Octavia, the sister of Octavian. His abandonment of Octavia, along with the fact that he blatantly divided his conquered territory between his children with Cleopatra and made her "Queen of Kings and Queen of Egypt", effectively dissolved the Second Triumvirate. Well, that and his recognition of Caesarion (son of Cleopatra and Julius Caesar) as the legitimate son and heir of Caesar.

There was no way that Octavian could allow such an obvious challenge to his authority. It was the straw that broke the camel's back, and the beginning of the end for both Antony and Cleopatra.

Answer: Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

The families of George VI (then "Bertie") and Elizabeth had been friends for a long time, and the two knew each other well. Something must have changed - at least for Bertie - in 1921, when he proposed marriage. Elizabeth refused, saying she would be "afraid never, never again to be free to think, speak and act as I feel I really ought to".

After rejecting his offer at least one more time after that, the two married in 1923; their life together after that has been described as a happy one. The movie, "The King's Speech" (2010) documented their concerted effort to rid Bertie of a speech impairment.

After the abdication of Bertie's brother, they became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, Queen consort. Her attitude through the course of WWII, "The children will not leave unless I do. I shall not leave unless their father does, and the King will not leave the country in any circumstances whatsoever", boosted morale and made her "the most dangerous woman in Europe", according to Adolf Hitler. Elizabeth, known as the Queen Mother after her husband's death in 1952, continued to be a popular member of the royal family and active in public life until her own passing in 2002.

Answer: Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor met Henry and his father, Geoffrey, in Paris about a year before her marriage to King Louis VII was annulled. Although he was much younger - by 11 years - than she was, she immediately fell in love with him and he with her! They made a plan that they would marry if the requested annulment ever became a reality; this was quite a risky move as Louis and Henry were already political rivals.

This situation not only removed about half of France from the French King's landholdings, it also added the same amount of land to Henry's. To say that the marriage of Henry II and Eleanor was stormy is, well, a bit of an understatement.

The fact that Eleanor was involved in their sons' rebellion against Henry in 1173, and her subsequent imprisonment by her husband until his death in 1189 is well-documented.

Answer: Theodora

Theodora's family was in "show business" and worked at the Hippodrome in Constantinople. Her father died when she was very young, and Theodora became an actress to earn a living. Since most actresses were also prostitutes, her association with Justinian caused quite a commotion. Upon her conversion to Christianity, and prior to her marriage, Theodora became a wool spinner. Justinian's advisors did not believe a marriage to Theodora was a sound political move; he, nevertheless, not only married her, but when he was crowned in 527, Theodora, was named his co-regent.

This happened, of course, amid much opposition, but one contemporary wrote that Theodora was "superior in intelligence to any man." Theodora's intelligence and good judgement showed during the famous Nika Revolt, when she convinced Justinian to hold fast to his course at a time when he was getting ready to abandon his empire.

Although Theodora died at an early age, Justinian went on to lead the Byzantine Empire to its greatest territorial extent.

Answer: Mary II

The English Civil War began in 1642, and by 1649, Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was in power and King Charles I was dead. It didn't take long, however, for Parliament to realize that the strict, puritanical rule of the Cromwell government was not what England wanted or needed.

In 1660, the sons of Charles I, Charles II and James II, were asked to return to rule England during the Restoration. While Charles II proved himself to be the type of king Parliament wanted, James II was not such a wise ruler.

The Glorious Revolution began after William of Orange successfully overthrew the government of James II, who was his father-in-law. William and Mary became king and queen regnant at the insistence of Mary; while it is believed by historians that William held more power than Mary did, she was able to be an effective monarch when he was out of the country. Together they are probably best known for signing the English Bill of Rights in 1689, and granting a charter for the founding of the College of William and Mary in colonial Virginia.

Answer: Sophie Chotek

The double assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, and his wife, Princess Sophie, is considered to be the immediate cause of WWI. By all appearances, their marriage appears to have been a love match. In fact, because Sophie was not a member of either a ruling dynasty of Europe or one that had previously ruled, she was not considered to be an eligible bride for Franz Ferdinand.

After meeting in 1894, they kept their association a secret, and Franz Ferdinand refused to marry anyone else. Five years later Emperor Franz Joseph gave permission for the couple to wed with the stipulation that none of the Archduke's titles or privileges would pass on to Sophie or any potential children. That basically meant that Sophie would not be able to stand next to her husband at affairs of state or even sit in the royal box at the theater, and there were people at court who belittled her and reminded the couple of her station whenever possible. Why, then, was she riding alongside her husband in the car on that fateful day in Sarajevo? Franz Ferdinand had been invited to travel to Sarajevo as a military commander rather than an heir to the throne.

It was a very rare opportunity for them to be seen together in public. How sad!