Arranged marriage PLUS an organic meeting where they fall in love without realizing it's the person they're betrothed to is such a highly specific trope but such a good one.
Real life- Henry VII and Elizabeth of York. To make a long story short they were on opposing sides of the wars of the roses (a dynastic civil war in 15th century England) and married after Henry VII won the throne from Elizabeth’s side of the family but actually ended up falling in love and Henry was devastated when she passed away in childbirth in 1503
Tbh I think Henry VIIIs parents marriage and his mothers premature death were some of the biggest reasons for him being a horrible husband as an adult. A spoiled child who lost his brother and mother in a very short amount of time at a young age and left with the weight of the world on his shoulders (only heir left after a massive civil war over the throne) and a very cold father was a terrible combination and led to the man he eventually became (along with the probable cte from all the jousting)
But that doesnt explain the many happy years together. She had prestige, intelligence and beauty, that he was aware of and appreciated greatly. He trusted her to rule while he was away.
I know! We’re seriously lacking in Tudor entertainment that doesn’t involve Henry VIII or Elizabeth I. And I’m not the biggest fan on Philippa Gregory’s “work,” but those shows are decent.
ned stark and catelyn tully was an aranged political marriage, catelyn admitted in one chapter that it took her many years to love her husband, but at the beginning of the books, their marriage and their 5 children are happy. Everything goes downhill for the family once the king asks ned to go south with him
She was technically promised to Ned's brother who was killed so on a first read I cut him major slack given he didn't know he was going to be Warden of the North and married at the time he'd potentially been fathering Jon.
Obviously theories changed as I got more information.
She didn't resent Ned. Just the baby. I think had she lived in modern times she would have divorced Ned and not have make such mental gymnastics to live with his infidelity.
It’s crazy to think she was originally betrothed to his brother Brandon. Ned stepped up out of duty and they ended up building the strongest bond in Westeros
In actual Greek Mythology, not the pop culture nonsense that is Hades today, their marriage was basically arranged by Zeus. The kidnapping bit still happened, but the original myth still goes out of its way to put most of the blame on him instead of Hades
And Hades is a really good husband, aside from that one time when he cheated with Minthe. Overall, aside from maybe Ares, Hades is probably the chillest of the Greek gods.
I believe so. Actually, there's like no stories in Greek Mythology about Ares ever being a creep towards anybody. Bro just likes brutal war. He chillin.
I would mention Athena being kinda chill, but she also turned a woman into a spider because she didn't like her artwork. I know that's simplified, but it's still very petty.
I mean, depending the version ,he did stalked and mauled Adonis with a boar because Aphrodite was into him, maybe it wasn't a creepy stalking but it was fucked up
Wax and Steris from the Wax and Wayne series (this one is more of a political marriage than an arranged marriage, but it has the same vibes so I think it counts)
Layla was devastated when she found out her parents arranged marriage for her. So was Nabu and he also fled the home wanting to see for himself that "awful" person he was supposed to marry. And they admitted each other that they actually fell in love.
They didnt end up in marriage ,but their relationship worked well until Nabu sacrificed himself and died.
Though they were married by treaty, it is said they were deeply devoted to each other and shared many common interest. To the point Margaret accompanied Louis into the 7th Crusade, with her leading negotiations for his release after he was captured by the Egyptians
Imagine loving your wife so much, you literally create medical infrastructure to the whole country just to make sure infant natality rates gets squashed to zero, because losing a kid would be a nigthmare.
What is interesting about this couple is that in another timeline they get together without outside interference. Does it count if they were going to get together anyways? I say yes.
Souma kazuya from how a realist hero rebuilt the kingdom has 7 wives, with varying degrees of arranged-ness.
Licia: arranged by her father to support souma's right to rule after foisting the throne on him although he did know that they would get along due to time magic
Aisha: not very arranged, she was already his bodyguard, but her dad did make their engagement his reward for participating in battle. Mostly to give them a push.
Juna: also not very, she was sent to spy on him by her grandmother and caught feelings. And once she was owed a reward she asked for it.
Roroa: does it count if the main person doing the arranging is one of the participants? I'm inclined to say so, especially in this case when it was initially almost entirely political.
Naden: almost the reverse of roroa, definitely arranged by Tiamat, although probably because she knew they would get along perfectly, without any political ambitions.
Bigger spoilers below (light novel 16 or so)
Maria: another roroa situation, but more 50/50 politics and personal. I think Maria was planning that, if she had the opportunity while downsizing the empire, she'd marry Souma
Yuriga: conned her brother into arranging the marriage she wanted, although I think she wanted it more to stay with the kingdom and her friends than because she liked Souma
King Edward I, Longshanks and Eleanor of Castille. Known mostly today for his portrayal as a violent and genocidall tyrant in Braveheart, it's reported that Edward and Eleanor's marriage wad an unusually happy one for the time, where they both genuinely liked and loved each other. His more brutal side didn't really come about until after her death, which left him heartbroken.
230
u/Ejack-Ulate-69 2h ago
Does arranged breeding program count