Brazilian Empress Teresa Cristina
Teresa Cristina was the daughter of the Duke of Calabria and she married the Emperor of Brazil when she was 21. (He was 17, it was an arranged marriage - a state marriage.) (It is believed that the Emperor received a picture of her before their marriage that was actually of a more beautiful woman. They then had to get dispensation from the Pope to marry because they were closely related.)
After their marriage by proxy, the Emperor finally saw her - then immediately turned around and left. She wrote home: "I know my appearance is different from what has been announced. I will make every effort to live in such a way that nobody will be misled by my character. It will be my ambition to resemble the nature of Dona Leopoldina, my husband's mother, and to be a Brazilian with all my heart in everything I do."
After their marriage by proxy, the Emperor finally saw her - then immediately turned around and left. She wrote home: "I know my appearance is different from what has been announced. I will make every effort to live in such a way that nobody will be misled by my character. It will be my ambition to resemble the nature of Dona Leopoldina, my husband's mother, and to be a Brazilian with all my heart in everything I do."
Date & Place:
in Rio de Janeiro Brazil