We’ve heard of the Wall—no, not that one, the 2nd Century AD one stretching across England—but what about Emperor Hadrian’s heart? He lost it to Antinous (far left), an intelligent and sports-loving Greek student. The emperor displayed “an obsessive craving for his presence.” The two traveled together, pursuing their love of hunting; Hadrian once saved his lover’s life during a lion hunt. The emperor even wrote erotic poetry. While visiting the Nile, Antinous drowned mysteriously, but some say he was murdered by those jealous of the emperor’s devotion. The devastated Hadrian proclaimed Antinous a deity, ordered a city be built in his honor, and named a star after him, between the Eagle and the Zodiac.

Rarely has a woman served as such profound inspiration for a writer—and yet he barely knew her. The Italian poet Dante Alighieri wrote passionately of Beatrice in the Divine Comedy and other poems, but only met the object of his affection twice. The first time, he was nine years old and she was eight. The second time, they were adults, and while walking on the street in Florence, Beatrice, an emerald-eyed beauty, turned and greeted Dante before continuing on her way. Beatrice died at age 24 in 1290 without Dante ever seeing her again. Nonetheless, she was “the glorious lady of my mind,” he wrote, and “she is my beatitude, the destroyer of all vices and the queen of virtue, salvation.”

In 1730, a Parisian prophetess told a nine-year-old girl she would rule the heart of a king. Years later, at a masked ball, Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, dressed as a domino, danced with King Louis XV, dressed as a tree. Within weeks, the delicate beauty was maîtresse-en-titre, given the title Marquise de Pompadour. “Any man would have wanted her as his mistress,” said another male admirer. The couple indulged in their love of art, furniture, and porcelain, with Madame de Pompadour arranging for her jaded royal lover small dinner parties and amateur theatricals in which she would star (of course). While watching one play, Louis XV declared, “You are the most delicious woman in France,” before sweeping her out of the room.

Abigail Smith married the Founding Father at age 20, gave birth to five children (including America’s fifth president, John Quincy Adams), and was John Adams’s confidante, political advisor, and First Lady. The more than 1,000 letters they wrote to each other offer a window into John and Abigail’s mutual devotion and abiding friendship. It was more than revolutionary political ideals that kept them so united; they shared a trust and abiding tenderness. Abigail wrote: “There is a tye more binding than Humanity, and stronger than Friendship … and by this chord I am not ashamed to say that I am bound, nor do I [believe] that you are wholly free from it.” As for John, he wrote: “I want to hear you think, or see your Thoughts. The Conclusion of your Letter makes my Heart throb, more than a Cannonade would. You bid me burn your Letters. But I must forget you first.”

When the young Romantic poet Percy Shelley met Mary Godwin, she was the teenage daughter of a famous trailblazing feminist, the long-dead Mary Wollstonecraft. The two of them shared a love of the mind—”Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips,” he wrote—but physical desire swept them away too, consummated near the grave of Mary’s mother. When they ran away to Europe, it caused a major scandal, but the couple proclaimed themselves indifferent to judgment. “It was acting in a novel, being an incarnate romance,” she later said. They traveled together to visit the debauched Lord Byron, and Mary wrote Frankenstein during two weeks in Switzerland. After Percy died in a boating accident in 1822, Mary never remarried. She said having been married to a genius, she could not marry a man who wasn’t one.

Elizabeth Barrett was an accomplished and respected poet in poor health (and nearly 40 years old) when Robert Browning wrote to her: “I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett,” and praising their “fresh strange music, the affluent language, the exquisite pathos and true new brave thought.” They courted in secret because of her family’s disapproval. She wrote, “I am not of a cold nature, & cannot bear to be treated coldly. When cold water is thrown upon a hot iron, the iron hisses.” They married in 1846, living among fellow writers and artists for the rest of her life. When she died, it was in Robert Browning’s arms.

The celebrated young poet’s romance with his neighbor, Fanny Brawne, sparked what is probably his most famous poem “Bright Star”, though the relationship was fraught with jealousy. Brawne was a precocious and flirtatious young woman, Keats a fiercely overzealous bard. The two clashed as often as they coalesced, but the full requisition of their love was hindered by Keats’ lack of money and his illness. Bedridden by tuberculosis, which he contracted from his late brother and mother, Keats yearned in envy over his coquettish Brawne, whose frivolous nature marred her love for the young poet and subsequently aggravated his wellbeing. Though engaged to Brawne, Keats had to end the engagement in an effort to get well in Rome. He died there not long after his arrival, his romance to remain unrequited.

When Edward VIII fell in love with American divorcée Wallis Simpson it was an affair shocked a nation and threw Britain’s monarch into a constitutional crisis. Due to strong opposition from the church and government over their marriage, Edward chose to abdicate the throne. He famously proclaimed his love for Simpson as he addressed the nation in 1936. “I have found it impossible to carry the heavy burden of responsibility and to discharge my duties as king as I would wish to do without the help and support of the woman I love,” he said in his abdication speech. Choosing love over kingship, the Duke of Windsor spent most of his life outside the royal family as the couple married and settled in France. Note: Years later it was revealed in previously hidden German Documents that not only did Simpson and the Duke of Windsor have Nazi associations, but there were also plans for the Germans to re-install him as King after they invaded the U.K.

In the wedding of the century, American film star Grace Kelly left Hollywood behind at the height of her career to wed Prince Rainier and become Princess of Monaco. Prince Rainier was immediately taken with Grace, whom he met when she filmed To Catch a Thief in the French Riviera. He courted her through letters for some time before the couple announced their engagement in the Kelly family’s Philadelphia home and married in 1956. Prince Rainier never remarried after Grace’s tragic death in 1982.

There isn’t a more iconic country music love story than that between Johnny Cash and June Carter. Both stars in their own right, the two met backstage at the famed Grand Ole Opry. When first meeting Cash, Carter supposedly told him, “I feel like I know you already.” The couple went on to tour together and fell in love, eventually marrying in 1968. Cash credited Carter with helping him recover from drug addiction, further solidifying their bond. The couple shared two Grammys, along with two solo Grammys for Carter and 11 for Cash. The both had storied careers and welcomed one son. The happy couple stayed together their whole lives and died within just four months of each other. It’s clear that this love was true – when once asked for his definition of paradise, Cash stated plainly, “this morning, with her, having coffee.”

Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr.

Carolyn Bessette and John F. Kennedy Jr. married in a secret ceremony on a small island in Georgia, indicative of their desire to keep their relationship private from the feigning press and public attention. The couple tried as much as they could to live a normal life out of their Tribeca apartment and with any normal marriage they had ups and downs. “They would love hard, and they would fight hard,” said a friend of the couples, Ariel Paredes. It was evident the love was there and as public attention mounted Carolyn and JFK Jr. became an iconic duo. Sadly, their love was cut short when the couple tragically died on July 16, 1999 in a plane crash over the Atlantic ocean.

George Clooney was Hollywood’s self-proclaimed bachelor of many decades, making his whirlwind love story with British human rights lawyer even more sweet. The two were introduced by a friend and soon after began exchanging emails that George comically penned as his dog Einstein. After six months of dating George proposed to the song, ‘Why Shouldn’t I?’ while making dinner. “It’s a really good song about why can’t I be in love?,” said George. The couple balances Amal’s career as a human rights lawyer, George’s acting, and their two twins, Ella and Alexander.

It was a love story that captured hearts around the world when Meghan Markle and Prince Harry wed in May 2018. Their life as a couple began in November 2017, when Harry popped the question while the two were roasting a chicken at their apartment in Kensington Palace. Since then, their fairytale has been untraditional, to say the least, but the love shared between the happy couple is clear. As they begin to carve out their new royal roles, amid much controversy, it remains certain that the couple cares deeply about each other and their adorable son, Archie. It’s hard to know what the future holds, but it seems like Meghan and Harry will take it all on together.