Their love was doomed from the start. Their romances were often turbulent, rocky, or fraught with grief. Love is never an easy tide. To great lengths many of us will go in order to capture it. Love, the tragedy that consumes us. But love, sweet love, what won’t we do for it?

Bonnie and Clyde

Their official names were Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker. When they met, Bonnie was already married to a convicted murderer. She was only 19, and Clyde was 21. Their brief affair together was based on killing sprees and robberies. In the four years they were together, it was believed that they had committed 13 murders, and several burglaries and robberies. Having lived viciously by the gun, the treacherous couple was gunned down in frenzy, by a posse of law enforcement on May 23, 1934.

Romeo and Juliet

(Image by Author, Verona 1998)

They were young, and their love seemed destined for tragedy. One hopes that their tender admiration for each other is one that will last. Instead, their testament to each other is met in death. Their story has been made famous by Shakespeare’s account of two star-cross’d lovers. Even in Verona, there is a picturesque house that many believe to be Juliet’s. Underneath her veranda, is a statue of the fair lady, and many rub her in the hopes of finding true love. So profound is the tale of their tragic love story, that it is one that has been told for centuries.

King Arthur and Guinevere

(Image by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, c.1855)

The queen of King Arthur was so exceptionally beautiful, that he could not resist her. Yet his lady had a roving eye. While she went to great lengths to gain the attention of her king, Guinevere would eventually stray. Her betrayal to King Arthur by his knight Sir Lancelot would cause the eventual downfall of King Arthur. Her disloyalty would end the Knights of the Round Table and Camelot when Sir Lancelot saved her from being burned at the stake. Some say Guinevere went to a convent having been ashamed of her actions. But no one is quite sure of what became of her.

Henry VIII and Kathryn Howard

Of all his wives, it is said that he loved Kathryn the most. By the time he took her as his wife, he was 49, overweight, and had an ulcerated leg. The young, beautiful Kathryn was a mere 19, but already seasoned. Kathryn doted on Henry and somehow managed to spring a new life in him. But not even a year into their marriage, rumors began to swirl of Kathryn’s infidelities, and she had many. It didn’t help that one of the men she was accused of having an affair with, was her personal secretary and had been spotted in her room late at night on many occasions. Evidence began to pile up against the Queen that she had been un-virtuous prior to marriage and after. She was eventually taken to the Tower and executed for such treason against the King.

Sid and Nancy

To say their love was unstable and tempestuous is an understatement. Often it was a violent on again off again, bitter romance. The pugnacious John Simon Ritchie was a fiery bassist for the Sex Pistols. Nancy Spungen was the fodder to his antics. With her he seemed quiet and contemplative. Without her, he was erratic and out of control. Their relationship largely revolved around drug abuse (mostly heroin). In an attempt to straighten him up, lead singer Johnny Rotten pleaded with Sid to be rid of his Nancy. It was to no avail. Under mysterious circumstances, Nancy was found on the morning of October 12, 1978 with a single stab wound to her abdomen. Shortly afterwards, Sid would follow her into death by overdosing on heroin. His ashes were scattered over Nancy’s grave.