"There Is No Remedy For Love... Quiz

Answer: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall met while making 'To Have and Have Not' in 1944 (the movie from which the quote "just whistle" comes). At the time, Bogart was married to actress Mayo Methot. Their marriage was known to be filled with fighting, drinking and throwing objects (mostly by Mayo, but Bogart apparently knew how to get her riled up). Bacall and Bogart hit it off immediately and when Bogart asked Bacall for her phone number, she gave it to him. Less than a year later they were married, despite well-wishers on both sides trying to tell them it wouldn't work.

Though this couple were married for only 12 years, and despite their age difference, they stayed madly in love until Bogey died in 1957. They had two children, Stevie and Leslie. Though Bacall married again after Bogart's death, it is well known that she never really got over Bogart.

Answer: Eva Duarte and Juan Peron

At the age of 15, in the early 1939s, country-bred María Eva Duarte decided she would like to become an actress and moved to Buenos Aires to pursue her dreams. While she was able to obtain bit-parts, she became famous through radio dramas.

Juan was born in one of the provinces of Buenos Aires and moved to the capital to undertake military training at the age of 16. His time in the military was exemplary; he was a natural athlete who excelled in skiing, fencing, and boxing. His first wife, Aurelia, died at the age of 30. Then a Lieutenant Colonel, he was sent to Europe to study the military tactics of other nations, a time that shaped his political beliefs and ambitions. An earthquake in San Juan province was the catalyst that brought Juan and Eva together, when she requested the opportunity to raise money for the earthquake victims.

Their careers progressed as did their romance, interrupted by Juan's arrest. They were married in 1945, but their passionate and productive relationship ended when Eva (also known as Evita) died in 1952.

Answer: Katharina von Bora and Martin Luther

Katharina had been placed in an orphanage by her father when she was around about 5 years old, so she could get an education. A bright and intelligent girl, she became interested in the Church reformation that sweeping Europe. It is not known exactly when Luther and von Bora met, but it was Luther who she called when she and a group of like-minded nuns wished to escape their vows and their nunnery.

Marriage was the most acceptable way of escaping monastic vows, but Katharina was hard to please. Eventually she narrowed possible husbands down to Luther himself or his friend, Nicholas von Amsdorf. Luther eventually agreed to marry her, and it proved to be an enormous domestic success, as well as a marriage of spiritual minds. Luther nailed his thesis to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, on October 31, 1517, leading to what is now known as the Protestant Reformation.

Answer: Abigail Smith and John Adams

John and Abigail met by chance when a friend introduced him to her family. A testament to their love for each other is found in the more than 1100 letters that survive. They were married for 50 years.

Their love for the new nation in which they lived was even more tangible. John Adams served as President of the United States from 1797 to 1801, but was present at the pivotal times during the birth of the nation, including being in attendance at the Second Continental Congress and voting on the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Adams confided in her, and unburdened his heart and mind to his wife; in her turn she implored him to pay attention to the thoughts and aspirations of the women of the new nation, saying we "will not hold ourselves bound by any laws in which we have no voice or representation". As partners and equals, they moved to the 'President's House' while the White House was being completed and in 1800 they moved to the White House.

Answer: Heloise d'Argenteuil and Peter Abelard

Peter Abelard was a French philosopher, thinker, theologian, and logician. Heloise was the beloved niece of Canon Fulbert, who saw to her education and guarded her jealously. Canon Fulbert allowed Abelard to become the tutor of Heloise, and such was their pleasure in each others' company they became lovers. Heloise became pregnant and Canon Fulbert was furious. He sent Heloise to his sister's home, where their son Astrolabe was born.

Abelard persuaded Heloise to marry him, but they left Astrolabe with his aunt. The family of Heloise wanted vengeance though, and broke into Abelard's room while he was sleeping and castrated him. He took himself off to a monastery and Heloise went to a nunnery, from where they continued to correspond. Their story is considered one of the most poignant examples of unrequited love in history.

Answer: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Born into the Greek royal family, the family of Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark was forced into exile in 1922 when the young Prince was just 1 year old. They spent some time wandering around Europe, and Prince Philip ended up in England. At the age of about 13, he commenced at Gordonstoun, after which he progressed to the Royal Naval College. It was there as a cadet that he was assigned to the duty of escorting the Royal Family on their visit to the installation in 1939.

He was 18 and she was 13; they had briefly met some years earlier at a wedding, but this was her first memory of meeting him. They were each very attracted to the other, and they carried on a friendship through writing letters and meeting occasionally when there was opportunity. During the war, at the age of 18, Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service and trained as a mechanic and military truck driver. Prince Philip also saw active service in WW2 and was a popular and capable leader.

The couple announced their engagement in 1947 and were married in November that year. They were married for 73 years, until Philip's death in 2021. Of him the Queen said: "He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim, or we shall ever know." This is a true love story.

Answer: Dante Alighieri and Beatrice Portinari

Love strikes some people early. Dante and Beatrice met in the house of friends when they were nine and eight, respectively. From then on he measured all women against his ideal - Beatrice. She was by all accounts (well, mostly Dante's accounts) quite lovely.

Dante fell out with the Pope and was banished from Florence - in fact, he lived most of his life in Ravenna, Italy. His aptitude for poetry was undoubted. His major works, 'La Vita Nuova', 'La Divina Commedia' ('Divine Comedy'), 'Literature in the Vernacular', and 'The Banquet' are hailed as influencing the understanding of commoners of theological matters, as they were written in the vernacular, rather than Latin. Beatrice was not forgotten in Dante's writings as it was she who served as his guide in Heaven in "The Divine Comedy".

Answer: Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco

Grace Kelly, who had just received an Oscar for Best Actress for 'The Country Girl', and Prince Rainier of Monaco were introduced by mutual friends - Olivia de Havilland and her second husband, Pierre Galantel. She apparently enjoyed the tour of his private zoo and considered him 'charming'; he proposed seven months later. Princes Grace died as the result of a car accident in 1982, while Prince Rainier died of a lung infection in 2005.

Charles Grimaldi was appointed as the Lord of Monaco in 1342. The Principality was annexed for a short time by France, but its independence was restored by Napoleon III with joint signing of the French-Monegasque Treaty. Prince Rainier III implemented a new constitution, appointed explorer, filmmaker, and inventor, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, head of Monaco's Oceanographic Museum, and entered the country into advantageous accords with several European bodies.

Answer: Boudicca and Prasutagus

Prasutagus was the leader of the Iceni tribe in East England, and it seems like he wanted peace at any price. The price came when he died and left half of his estate to Nero, who had allowed a couple of Celtic kings to retain some of their traditional powers - for a fee, and half to his daughters. Nero wanted the whole of the estate, and his soldiers tried to take it. Boudicca was publicly beaten, and her daughters raped; the wealth of the tribe was stolen and some of the royal family taken into enslavement.

The Iceni were not the only tribe who disliked the Romans, and Boudicca rallied them. While they initially had success, the Romans were able suppress the uprising, killing some 80,000 Britons while suffering only 400 casualties. The story of this brave, but drastic and fateful, stand has become part of the British psyche. Commissioned by Prince Albert, a statue in honour of Boudicca and her daughters in a war chariot was raised and stands next to Westminster Bridge and the Houses of Parliament.

Answer: Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal

Such was Shah Jahan's love for Arjumand Bano Begum, he named his empress consort 'Mumtaz Mahal', which means 'the jewel of the palace'. They became acquainted when she was fourteen years of age, but waited 5 years before they were married. By all accounts, Mumtaz Mahal was a kind-hearted and clever woman, who exercised considerable influence over her husband.

While traveling with her husband to the Deccan Plateau, she gave birth to their 14th child and died. She was temporarily interred at Burhanpur; in 1631 her body was placed in a golden casket and taken back to Agra, where she was buried near the Yamuna River. There she stayed until her final resting place was completed - the Taj Mahal. The building reflected the beauty of Mumtaz Mahal, with fields of flowers made from jewels and lavishly decorated by stone workers.

The final years of Shah Jahan were tragic; his son declared him incompetent and locked him in a tower for 8 years. When he died, he was taken by boat to the Taj Mahal, where he was interred next to his beloved wife.