I refer to the article entitled ‘New President has link to Russia’s royal family’ (April 4).

Charles Said Vassallo did not mention that the famous Russian ballerina, Princess Natalie Poutiatine, double married the Maltese, Edgar Tabone. They married in Rome in the Russian Orthodox church in November 1927 and two months later, on January 7, 1928, with a Catholic service in Malta. She died on January 21, 1984.

To remarry your wife a second time was a common affair in the late 19th century in Malta and statistics show that about 700 such marriages a year took place for identical reasons.

Another famous double marriage was of Giovanni Dacoutros, who married Lucrezia Theuma twice in the late 19th century.

The reason was that the Catholic Church did not allow automatic marriages between Catholics and others of a different religion. A special concession was needed from higher authorities.

Both stories appear in the book Ships, Wine and Wars.