Roxanne was the daughter of the Persian aristocrat Oxyartes, one of the Persian leaders who Alexander the Great defeated in battle. Alexander fell in love with Roxanne at first sight and they were eventually married, despite strong opposition from Alexander's friends and subordinates. Roxanne bore Alexander a son, whom she named after his father, but Alexander died in Babylon prior to the boy's birth.
Afterwards, it is believed that Roxanne was behind the assassination of Alexander's other wives. Subsequently, she and her son were protected by Alexander's mother, Olympias.
After Olympias was assassinated, Cassander, one of Alexander's generals who wanted to rule the empire Alexander left behind, had Roxanne and her son assassinated around 310 BC.
2. Nicholas II of Russia
Answer: Alix of Hesse
Alix of Hesse (aka Alexandra Feodorovna) was born on June 6, 1872. She was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and kin to the last German Kaiser, Wilhelm II. She married Nicholas II of Russia in late 1894. They had five children: four daughters, named Olga, Tatiana, Maria and Anastasia and a son, Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia.
Her son's illness made Alix vulnerable to the influence of Grigori Rasputin, a self-proclaimed "holy man" who apparently had a cure of the Prince's illness.
While the extent of Rasputin's influence on her is disputed, it is sure that she heeded his advice and seemed to believe that he could cure her child. After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, she and her family were exiled in Siberia, where they were assassinated in 1918.
3. Henry VIII of England
Answer: Anne Boleyn
Anne Boleyn was born around 1501. She was the second queen of Henry VIII of England. It was in early 1526 when Henry first attempted to seduce Anne, but she resisted his advances, unlike her sister, Mary. Henry was married to Catherine of Aragon at that time. So, he planned to annul his marriage to Catherine and be free to marry Anne.
When Pope Clement VII made clear that the annulment was not to be done, Henry declared the Church of England independent form the Roman Catholic Church. Thomas Cranmer, the Archbishop of Canterbury, annulled the marriage of Henry and Catherine and declared Henry and Anne's marriage valid, early in 1533. Later that year, Anne gave birth to a daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth I.
Henry was disappointed, since he hoped for a son. Anne subsequently had three miscarriages and Henry's attentions turned to Jane Seymour.
In 1536, Anne was arrested on charges of adultery and incest. She was found guilty and was executed on May 19, 1536.
4. Ferdinand II of Aragon
Answer: Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I of Castile was born on April 22, 1451. In 1469, she was married with Ferdinand II of Aragon. Their marriage was the basis for the unification of Spain as one kingdom. While they reigned, the Reconquista, the reconquest of Spain from the Moors, was completed.
The Muslims and the Jews who resided in Spain were expelled on their orders. They also financed Christopher Columbus, whose discovery of the Americas gave Spain many new colonies and sources of wealth. Their grandson, Charles V, ruled both Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. Isabella of Castile died in 1504.
5. Franz Joseph I of Austria
Answer: Elisabeth of Bavaria
Elisabeth of Bavaria was born on December 24, 1837. She is widely known by the nikcname "Sisi". When she was 16, she was given to Franz Joseph I of Austria as a bride. Due to her largely informal upbringing, Elisabeth found it hard to get used to the formal Habsburg court life.
She bore Franz Joseph a son, Rudolf, but the strain was too much for her and she often visited Hungary for relaxation. In 1867, she helped bring about the Austro-Hungarian Compromise due to her acquaintance with Hungary. However, in 1889, her son, Rudolf and his lover, Baroness Marie Vetsera, committed suicide because Franz Joseph did not approve of their upcoming marriage. That was a shock for Elisabeth.
She developed an obsession with maintaining her youthful figure, demanding to be sewn into her leather corsets.
She also started to travel widely, unaccompanied by her family. In 1898, in Geneva, she was stabbed to death by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni.
6. Napoleon III of France
Answer: Eugénie de Montijo
Eugénie de Montijo was born in 1826. She and Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, later Emperor Napoleon III, met in 1849. It is said that Napoleon attempted to seduce her, asking "What is the road to your heart?" to which Eugénie replied, "Through the chapel, Sire".
After Napoleon became Emperor of the French (he chose that title instead of "Emperor of France" in order to show that he was accepted by the people), they were married in 1853. In 1856, she gave him a son and heir, but after a two-day labor that endangered the lives of both mother and child.
It is thought that, after the birth of their son, their sexual relationship drifted apart, since Eugenie had found sex with Napoleon "disgusting". It is also possible that Eugenie was partially resposible for the fiasco of the French intervention in Mexico.
After the Franco-Prussian War and France's defeat, Eugenie fled to Deauville and then to the United Kingdom, where she was later joined by Napoleon. She died in 1920.
7. Richard Lionheart
Answer: Berengaria of Navarre
Berengaria of Navarre was born somewhere between 1165 and 1170. Eleanor of Aquitaine promoted the marriage between her and Richard, her son. However, that could not progress until Richard broke off his betrothal to Alys, sister of King Philippe of France, which he did in 1190. Before the ceremony, Richard was off for the Third Crusade and Berengaria traveled for long before reaching him.
It is uncertain if they ever consummated their marriage. Berengaria never had any children and Richard fathered no legitimate issue. Berengaria is widely known at the Queen who never stepped foot on the country her husband ruled.
However, she spent much time in Richard's Franch possessions, where she gifted much to the church.
8. Philip Augustus of France
Answer: Isabella of Hainault
Isabella of Hainault was born in 1170. At the tender age of ten, she became the wife of King Philip II of France, who was only five years older than her. Their marriage brought the county of Artois into the fold of the French crown. Due to her age, Isabella was unable to provide Philip with children. Furthermore, her father, Baldwin of Hainault, supported Flanders in a war against France, in 1184. Philip called for a council at Sens in order to repudiate Isabella. On the day of the council, Isabella appeared at the town barefoot and attired in penitent clothes, gaining the sympathy and pity of the people, who went outside the palace and started shouting so angrily that their voices could be heard. Robert of Dreux, the King's uncle, intervened and no repudiation followed. Three years later, Isabella gave birth to Philip's son and heir, Louis VIII of France.
She died in 1190, from childbirth complications, after the birth of twins named Robert and Philip.
9. Peter the Great
Answer: Eudoxia Lopukhina
Eudoxia Lopukhina was born in 1669. When she was twenty years old, she married Peter the Great. The marriage served the wishes of Peter's mother, since Eudoxia was related to the famous boyar Fyodor Rtishchev. Despite the fact that she gave birth to Peter's son and heir, Alexei, her husband could not stand her conservative relatives and began an affair with the Dutch Anna Mons.
In 1698, her marriage to Peter was broken and she was forced to enter a monastery in Suzdal. However, she was allowed to live as she wanted and she even found a lover there. Eudoxia and her son became the center of opposition to Peter's reforms.
However, in 1718, Peter shattered all opposition and Eudoxia was transferred to a monastery in Ladoga. However, after Peter's death and after her grandson, Peter II, ascended on the throne, she was allowed back in Moscow and even had her own court in Novodevichy Convent until her death.
10. Louis XVI of France
Answer: Marie Antoinette
Marie Antoinette was born in 1755. She was the daughter of Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Theresa of Austria. In 1770, she became the wife of Louis XVI of France. Although she was initially popular with the people of France, they grew to dislike her. Because of her extravagance, she became known as Madame Deficit.
When the French Revolution erupted, she and Louis were held under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace. In June, 1791, they made an attempt to flee France, but they were caught near Varennes and brought back to Paris.
After the abolition of monarchy and the execution of Louis, she was herself guilotined in October 1793. Although Marie Antoinette is said in popular cultur, to be the one who proclaimed 'Let them eat cake!" about the starving peasants of France, the phrase comes from Jean Jacques Rousseau's "Confessions" and she was not accused of saying it until decades after the Revolution.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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