#2: Queen Victoria and Prince Albert
Queen Victoria met Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1836, and she proposed to him in 1839, since protocol required it. They married in 1840 and had nine children, shaping alliances across Europe. Albert advised her on political matters and supported initiatives like the Great Exhibition of 1851. When he died of typhoid fever in 1861 at age 42, Victoria withdrew from public appearances for years and wore black for the rest of her life.
