Elizabeth Taylor has dusted off her love letters exchanged with Richard Burton and is letting Vanity Fair publish portions for its July issue. It will be the first time that Taylor makes her love letters with Burton public and the actress will be a featured on the cover (albeit in a photo from her stunning heyday). The only letter that Taylor was not willing to share was the letter that Burton sent her just days before his death. Taylor actually didn’t receive the letter in the mail until a few days after Burton had died.
“Richard was magnificent in every sense of the word. And in everything he did…he was the kindest, funniest, most gentle father.” Taylor has said. “All my kids worshipped him. Attentive, loving–that was Richard…from those first moments in Rome we were always madly and powerfully in love. We had more time, but not enough.”
The love letters reveal the pair’s love-torn relationship that was often dramatic, high-strung and even silly. In many letter, Burton calls Taylor playful names and jokes around, while also professing how much he loves her. Their two marriages served as examples of how loving someone isn’t always enough to keep a healthy marriage. The pair fell in love while working on the epic film, Cleopatra, in 1961, and married for the first time just three years later. During their marriage, Burton presented Taylor with a lavish 70-carat flawless pear-shaped engagement ring, which was later named the Taylor-Burton diamond.
