While the circus was on tour in Halifax, Canada, 7 foot 11 inches (241.3 cm) tall Anna Haining Swan happened to visit. She and Martin Bates, 7 foot 9 inches (236.22 cm) soon got to know each other, and were married in 1871 The wedding, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London, was abuzz with publicity, and thousands of people, drawn both by the uncommonness of the spectacle and the disarming good nature of the pair, tried to attend. Queen Victoria herself gave them two extra-large diamond-studded gold watches as wedding presents.

Anna Haining Swan (Canada, b. 6 August 1846; d. 5 August 1888) was said to be 246.38 cm (8 ft 1 in) but actually measured 241.3 cm (7 ft 11 in). On 17 June 1871, she married Martin van Buren Bates (USA, b. 9 November 1837; d. 19 January 1919), who stood 236.22 cm (7 ft 9 in), making them the tallest married couple ever, with a combined height of 477.52 cm (15 ft 8 in).

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