Weddings allowed her to become a willing, wifely shadow behind her husbands.

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In a passing moment of something like wifely entitlement, I lifted the wicker lid and dropped my blouse on top of his shirt and thought no more about it.

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There is her wifely strength, like the Queen Mother, and as a Queen Consort she does not try to steal the limelight from her husband.

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English courts may also reckon that wifely efforts in childcare or home-making have stoked a husband's earning power, and give her a lifetime slice of it.

ECONOMIST: Prenuptial agreements