Leap Year Proposals
It is a tradition in Britain that in leap years women may propose.
It is said that in about 1288 Queen Margaret of Scotland passed a law that required that a man who refused a proposal could be fined; compensation ranged from a kiss to £1 to a silk gown.
In 1839, Queen Victoria proposed to Prince Albert at Windsor Castle because he was of a lower social standing than her. As the Queen, she was able to ignore the leap year tradition, but the couple were married in 1840, which was in fact a leap year.
