Finding Prince Charming: When Commoners Marry Royalty

Crown prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson engaged
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Mary Elizabeth Donaldson drive off after their engagement at Copenhagen's Amalienborg Palace on October 8, 2013.Francis Dean—Corbis
Olympics Day 6 - Cycling - Track kate middleton
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, embraces wife Kate Middleton during London's Olympic Games on August 2, 2012. Pascal Le Segretain—Getty Images
Charlene Wittstock
Charlene Wittstock, former Olympic swimmer and current wife of Prince Albert II of Monaco, smiles in a swimming pool on Feb. 10, 1997.Ruvan Boshoff—Sunday Times/Gallo Images/Getty Images
Giorgio Armani - Front Row - MFW F/W 2013
Tatiana Blatnik, Princess of Greece and Denmark, poses at the Giorgio Armani fashion show in Milan on Feb. 25, 2014.Vittorio Zunino Celotto—Getty Images
Greek Royal Christening In Athens
Marie-Chantal, Crown Princess of Greece, arrives at the christening of her son, Odysseas Kimon, in Athens on June 18, 2005.James Whatling—UK Press/Getty Images
Crown Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands and his fiancee Maxima Zorreguieta from Argentina made a grand tour through Holland
Maxima Zorreguieta cycles ahead of her then fiance, Crown Prince Willem Alexander of the Netherlands, during a tour of Holland on Sept. 26, 2001.Raymond Rutting—Hollandse Hoogte/Corbis
Royals 2004 - Royal Wedding of Prince Friso
Mabel Wisse Smit smiles at late husband Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau after their wedding ceremony in Delft, Netherlands on April 24, 2004.Frank van Beek—Capital Photo/Corbis
Princess Letizia at the Monastery of Yuso in La Rioja
Princess Letizia of Spain waves to photographers at a seminar on Spanish language in journalism in San Millan de la Cogolla, Spain on May 28, 2014. Michael Murdock—Splash News/Corbis
King and Queen of Sweden
Silvia Sommerlath, stands with husband King Carl Gustaf of Sweden after their marriage on June 19, 1976.Lennart Nilsson—Bettmann/Corbis

More Must-Reads from TIME

Contact us at letters@time.com