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Love is a powerful emotion. Throughout history couples in love have caused wars and controversy, created masterpieces in writing, music, and art, and have captured the heart of the public with the power of their love. From the allure of Cleopatra to the magnetism of the Kennedy’s, these love affairs have stood as markers in history.

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Famous love stories:

Louis XV of France and Madame de Pompadour

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.

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco

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.

Amal and George Clooney

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.