C2206

Every fairy tale needs a witch, not a villain. Villains want understandable things — money, revenge, even someone else's coastline. You can negotiate with a villain, which is why nobody remembers them. The witch wants something worse. The witch wants what belongs to the beauty. And the story only works if she loses. She must … Read more

In early June 1968, a 46-year-old woman stood under hot studio lights on a Los Angeles sound stage and waited for her cue. Her husband had been dead for six weeks. In that time, she had learned that the roughly $20 million she earned across two decades of films and records was gone. The money … Read more

On the morning of September 23, 1872, at Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire, Queen Victoria was reading a telegram from Germany. She was 53 years old, dressed in the black she had worn every day for 11 years. The message was short. Her half-sister, Princess Theodora of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, had died that morning in rented rooms in … Read more

On July 4, 1973, inside the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks, a cavalry officer in full dress uniform stood at the altar waiting for a bride whom half of fashionable London was discussing in whispers. The organ sounded, the aristocracy took their seats, and summer light flooded one of the grandest upper-class weddings Britain had … Read more

Prince Philip attended roughly 22,000 solo engagements during 65 years as consort to Queen Elizabeth II. He gave speeches to engineering societies, opened hospitals, chaired committees, and walked two paces behind his wife at every state occasion from her coronation in 1953 until his retirement at 96. That is the official record. Alongside it was … Read more

Wendy Williams was born on July 18, 1964, in Asbury Park, New Jersey. She was the middle child of Thomas Dellaroy Williams Sr. and Shirley Mae Williams, both educators. Her father was a teacher and guidance counselor, and her mother taught special education. The family lived in the Wayside section of Ocean Township, a quiet, … Read more

The public story of Ronald and Nancy Reagan was one of the great American love stories. He was the affable former actor turned conservative hero, famous for his ease and his timing. She was the elegant first lady, always immaculate, always just behind his shoulder, always watching him. That was the photograph. For millions of … Read more