Royal intermarriage
Encyclopedia
Royal intermarriage is the practice of members of ruling dynasties
marrying into other reign
ing families. It was more commonly done in the past as part of strategic diplomacy for reasons of state
. Although sometimes enforced by legal requirement on persons of royal birth, more often it has been a matter of political policy and/or tradition in monarchies.
From the medieval era until the fall of Napoleon I most European heads of state were hereditary monarchs in pursuit of national and international aggrandizement on behalf of themselves and their dynasties. Thus bonds of kinship tended to promote or restrain aggression. Marriage between dynasties could serve to initiate, re-enforce or guarantee peace between nations. Alternatively, kinship by marriage could secure an alliance between two dynasties which sought to reduce the sense of threat from or to initiate aggression against the realm of a third dynasty. It could also enhance the prospect of territorial acquisition for a dynasty by procuring legal claim to a foreign throne, or portions of its realm (e.g. colonies), through inheritance from an heiress whenever a monarch failed to leave an undisputed male heir.
Also following Europe's medieval era when tribal leaders evolved into feudal
suzerains, suzerains
into kings and kings into absolute monarchs, they rose from primus inter pares
into God's anointed
sovereigns. Marriages with subjects brought the king back down to the level of those he ruled, often stimulating the ambition of his consort's family and evoking jealousy—or disdain—from the nobility. The notion that monarchs should marry into the dynasties of other monarchs to end or prevent war was, at first, a policy driven by pragmatism. During the era of absolutism
it came to re-enforce the notion of Divine right
-- i.e., the premise that monarchs and dynasties were chosen to reign by God and, ipso facto, were different, as if by caste
, rather than merely by fortune from their subjects. Kings continued to marry into the families of their greatest vassal
s down to the 16th century in most of Europe, by which time most of the great regional principalities and duchies were annexed
to the Crown in Scandinavia, Latin Europe and the British Isles through royal subjugation or inheritance. Henceforth, kings tended to marry internationally and, increasingly, to have their sons and daughters do likewise.
in national monarchies often came to set great store by genealogical quartering
s (a higher standard of noble ancestry, as measured by descent from four noble grandparents, eight noble great-grandparents, etc., rather than only in the male line
), that standard proved less influential among reigning dynasties. Many European orders of chivalry (for men) and of canonesses (for women) imposed strict membership requirements for genealogical nobility extending back sometimes to all 64 of one's great-great-great grandparents or 300 years in a patriline
. No such restrictions could apply to inter-marriage with reigning dynasties because the demand for political/military alliances and the prospect of inheritance of a foreign realm through marriage to its heiress forbade rigid adherence to standards of genealogical purity among Europe's ruling families: The Medici, Farnesi, Romanovs and Bonapartes were sought as marital partners by even Europe's oldest dynasties for these reasons.
Royal intermarriage was practised widely as a means of promoting mutually advantageous relations with neighboring or hostile nations by binding their reign
ing dynasties in blood kinship
. As dynasties
also approached absolutism
and/or sought to preserve loyalty among competing members of the nobility, most eventually distanced themselves from kinship ties to local nobles by marrying abroad. In time, this practice contributed to the notion that it was socially as well as politically disadvantageous for members of ruling families to intermarry with their subjects. Queens consort
selected from noble or common castes were sometimes subjected to scorn from their husbands' courtiers (e.g. Karin Mansdotter
and Anna Canalis di Cumiana
).
s as well. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royalty and nobility descended from the British Queen Victoria
or King Christian IX of Denmark. The House of Habsburg
was infamous for its inbreeding, with the Habsburg lip
cited as an ill-effect, although no genetic evidence has proved the allegation. The closely related houses of Habsburg, Bourbon
and Wittelsbach also engaged in first-cousin unions frequently and in double-cousin and uncle-niece marriages occasionally.
s among the sovereign houses of Europe and, particularly, among the semi-sovereign dynasties which reigned directly under the Holy Roman Emperor
and held voting seats in his Imperial Diet
. These laws either required the monarch's authorization for a dynastic marriage, or stipulated with whom a dynast must marry to comply with the principle of Ebenbürtigkeit, i.e., to contract an equal marriage
, or both. Marriages which did not comply with this standard were considered non-dynastic, either being a mismarriage (inherently unequal, thus non-dynastic) or a morganatic marriage (unequal by mutual consent of the spouses or non-dynastic by monarchical decision).
If a member of a royal family marries someone of inappropriate status, that prince or princess often loses succession rights, titles, or various other royal privileges since nearly all monarchies impose legal restrictions on marriages of dynasts. A frequent occurrence in the past was for the spouse and any children to be denied any prospect of inheriting the dynasty's throne, and to be assigned lesser rank and titles than if the marriage had complied with the dynasty's norms: this was the morganatic marriage
.
Sometimes these disinherited branches were deemed suitable for marriage into other families. This happened when Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
married the lesser Countess Julia von Hauke. Julia and the morganatic children of this union were given the style of Serene Highness
and title of Prince(ss) of Battenberg
. The Battenberg family
later married into the royal families of Sweden
and Spain
, and descendants into the royal families of Britain
, Greece
, Denmark
, and other countries. Similarly, the Teck
family, from which Queen Mary of the United Kingdom
came, was a morganatic branch of the royal House of Württemberg
.
and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
(born a Prince of Greece and Denmark). Prince Philip is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
and Princess Alice of Battenberg
, whose mother Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
and paternal grandfather, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
, were both members of the same paternal family.
Princess Alice's paternal uncle, Prince Henry of Battenberg
married Princess Beatrice (a daughter of Elizabeth II's great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria). Their daughter, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg married King Alfonso XIII of Spain
, and her grandson, the present king, Juan Carlos
, married Princess Sophia of Greece & Denmark
, whose father was a cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
.
Likewise, Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark, was also Prince Philip's great-grandfather. They are also related several times through Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover
.
Below is shown how each of Europe's 10 currently reigning hereditary monarchs since 1939 descends from a common ancestor, Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange.
Other contemporary examples include Greece-Denmark, Italy (Savoy)-Greece, Yugoslavia-Brazil, Yugoslavia-Italy, Belgium-Austria, Luxemburg-Austria, Luxemburg-Liechtenstein, Bavaria-Liechtenstein, Hanover-Monaco, Oldenburg-Austria, Orleans-Liechtenstein, Wurttemberg-Orleans and Wurttemberg-Bavaria.
were prevalent throughout most of Europe's royal courts. The British throne was occupied by King Edward VII
, who was married to Princess Alexandra
, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark
. German Emperor William was the son of German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal
, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Another of Victoria's daughters, Princess Alice, married Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and by Rhine
, whose daughter Princess Alix became Empress of Russia as the consort of Tsar Nicholas II
. Nicholas himself was the son of Tsar Alexander III
and Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar, another daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.
married Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky
on 8 February 2009 at the Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral
. The marriage united the Bagration-Gruzinsky
(Kakheti) and Bagration-Moukhransky
(Mukhraneli) branches of the former royal family
of Georgia
, and drew a crowd of 3,000 spectators, officials, and foreign diplomats, as well as extensive coverage by the Georgian media
.
The dynastic significance of the wedding lay in the fact that, amidst the turmoil in political partisanship that has roiled Georgia since its independence in 1991, Patriarch Ilia II
of Georgia publicly called for restoration of the monarchy as a path toward national unity in October 2007. Although this led some politicians and parties to entertain the notion of a Georgian constitutional monarchy
, competition arose among the old Bagrationi dynasty
's princes and supporters, as historians and jurists
debated which Bagrationi has the strongest hereditary right to a throne that has been vacant for two centuries.
Aside from his unmarried elder brother, Prince David is the heir male
of the Bagration family
, while the bride's father, Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky
, is the most senior descendant of the last Bagrationi to reign over the united kingdom of Georgia. But the marriage between the Gruzinsky heiress and the Mukhrani heir resolves their rivalry for the claim to the throne, which has recently divided Georgian monarchists. The couple's first child, Prince George Bagration-Bagrationi was born on September 27, 2011.
ing dynasties of Swaziland
, KwaZulu-Natal
and Transkei
are related in the following fashion: Nelson Mandela
belongs to a cadet branch
of the Thembu
dynasty, which reigns in the Transkeian Territories
of South Africa's Cape Province
. His patrilineal
great-grandfather Ngubengcuka
, who died in 1832, ruled as the Inkosi Enkhulu, or king
, of the Thembu people. One of the king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because he was only the Inkosi's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan
, the so-called "Left-Hand House", the descendants of his branch of the royal family were not eligible to succeed to the Thembu throne (cf.
to the so-called "left-hand marriage" or morganatic marriage of European history). Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa
, served as chief
of Mvezo
in the Transkei. Nelson Mandela's daughter, Zeni Mandela, is married to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, an elder brother of both Mswati III, reigning King of Swaziland, and of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, the Great Wife
of the reign
ing King of KwaZulu-Natal, Goodwill Zwelithini). Prince Thumbumuzi, King Mswati III and Queen Mantfombi are all children of the late King Sobhuza II of Swaziland. Queen Mantfombi's eldest son, Prince Misuzulu, is a prime candidate to inherit his father's throne.
in order to maintain peace between their two nations.
The following Chinese royals married princes or princesses from other ruling families:
.
The following are several examples of Korean royal intermarriage:
Recently there have been marriages between the royal families of the Middle East:
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
marrying into other reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ing families. It was more commonly done in the past as part of strategic diplomacy for reasons of state
National interest
The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d'État , is a country's goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The concept is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist...
. Although sometimes enforced by legal requirement on persons of royal birth, more often it has been a matter of political policy and/or tradition in monarchies.
From the medieval era until the fall of Napoleon I most European heads of state were hereditary monarchs in pursuit of national and international aggrandizement on behalf of themselves and their dynasties. Thus bonds of kinship tended to promote or restrain aggression. Marriage between dynasties could serve to initiate, re-enforce or guarantee peace between nations. Alternatively, kinship by marriage could secure an alliance between two dynasties which sought to reduce the sense of threat from or to initiate aggression against the realm of a third dynasty. It could also enhance the prospect of territorial acquisition for a dynasty by procuring legal claim to a foreign throne, or portions of its realm (e.g. colonies), through inheritance from an heiress whenever a monarch failed to leave an undisputed male heir.
Also following Europe's medieval era when tribal leaders evolved into feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
suzerains, suzerains
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
into kings and kings into absolute monarchs, they rose from primus inter pares
Primus inter pares
Primus inter pares is Latin phrase describing the most senior person of a group sharing the same rank or office.When not used in reference to a specific title, it may indicate that the person so described is formally equal, but looked upon as an authority of special importance by their peers...
into God's anointed
Divine Right
Divine Right may refer to:* The Divine right of kings, the doctrine that a monarch derives his or her power directly from God* Episcopal polity, the doctrine that is required in the church jure divino, i.e...
sovereigns. Marriages with subjects brought the king back down to the level of those he ruled, often stimulating the ambition of his consort's family and evoking jealousy—or disdain—from the nobility. The notion that monarchs should marry into the dynasties of other monarchs to end or prevent war was, at first, a policy driven by pragmatism. During the era of absolutism
Absolutism
The term Absolutism may refer to:* Absolute idealism, an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G.W.F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole...
it came to re-enforce the notion of Divine right
Divine Right
Divine Right may refer to:* The Divine right of kings, the doctrine that a monarch derives his or her power directly from God* Episcopal polity, the doctrine that is required in the church jure divino, i.e...
-- i.e., the premise that monarchs and dynasties were chosen to reign by God and, ipso facto, were different, as if by caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
, rather than merely by fortune from their subjects. Kings continued to marry into the families of their greatest vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
s down to the 16th century in most of Europe, by which time most of the great regional principalities and duchies were annexed
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
to the Crown in Scandinavia, Latin Europe and the British Isles through royal subjugation or inheritance. Henceforth, kings tended to marry internationally and, increasingly, to have their sons and daughters do likewise.
Royal marriage as international policy
Whereas the nobilityNobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
in national monarchies often came to set great store by genealogical quartering
Quartering (heraldry)
Quartering in heraldry is a method of joining several different coats of arms together in one shield by dividing the shield into equal parts and placing different coats of arms in each division....
s (a higher standard of noble ancestry, as measured by descent from four noble grandparents, eight noble great-grandparents, etc., rather than only in the male line
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
), that standard proved less influential among reigning dynasties. Many European orders of chivalry (for men) and of canonesses (for women) imposed strict membership requirements for genealogical nobility extending back sometimes to all 64 of one's great-great-great grandparents or 300 years in a patriline
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
. No such restrictions could apply to inter-marriage with reigning dynasties because the demand for political/military alliances and the prospect of inheritance of a foreign realm through marriage to its heiress forbade rigid adherence to standards of genealogical purity among Europe's ruling families: The Medici, Farnesi, Romanovs and Bonapartes were sought as marital partners by even Europe's oldest dynasties for these reasons.
Royal intermarriage was practised widely as a means of promoting mutually advantageous relations with neighboring or hostile nations by binding their reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ing dynasties in blood kinship
Kinship
Kinship is a relationship between any entities that share a genealogical origin, through either biological, cultural, or historical descent. And descent groups, lineages, etc. are treated in their own subsections....
. As dynasties
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
also approached absolutism
Absolutism
The term Absolutism may refer to:* Absolute idealism, an ontologically monistic philosophy attributed to G.W.F. Hegel. It is Hegel's account of how being is ultimately comprehensible as an all-inclusive whole...
and/or sought to preserve loyalty among competing members of the nobility, most eventually distanced themselves from kinship ties to local nobles by marrying abroad. In time, this practice contributed to the notion that it was socially as well as politically disadvantageous for members of ruling families to intermarry with their subjects. Queens consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
selected from noble or common castes were sometimes subjected to scorn from their husbands' courtiers (e.g. Karin Mansdotter
Karin Månsdotter
Karin Månsdotter was Queen of Sweden, first a mistress and then the spouse of King Eric XIV of Sweden...
and Anna Canalis di Cumiana
Anna Canalis di Cumiana
Anna Carlotta Teresa Canalis di Cumiana was the morganantic spouse of Victor Amadeus II, King of Sardinia. She was created Marchioness of Spigno.-Lady of the court:...
).
Inbreeding
Over time, due to the relatively small pool of potential consorts, the gene pool of many regional royal families grew progressively smaller, until all European royalty were related, usually to their consortConsort
Consort may refer to:Titles:* Queen consort, wife of a reigning king* Prince consort, husband of a reigning queen* King consort, rarely used alternative title for husband of a reigning queen...
s as well. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royalty and nobility descended from the British Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
or King Christian IX of Denmark. The House of Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
was infamous for its inbreeding, with the Habsburg lip
Prognathism
Prognathism is a term used to describe the positional relationship of the mandible and/or maxilla to the skeletal base where either of the jaws protrudes beyond a predetermined imaginary line in the coronal plane of the skull. In general dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery and orthodontics...
cited as an ill-effect, although no genetic evidence has proved the allegation. The closely related houses of Habsburg, Bourbon
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
and Wittelsbach also engaged in first-cousin unions frequently and in double-cousin and uncle-niece marriages occasionally.
Morganatic marriage
The entrenchment of the distinction between royalty and nobility gave rise to royal house lawHouse law
House law or House laws are rules that govern a royal family or dynasty in matters of eligibility for succession to a throne, membership in a dynasty, exercise of a regency, or entitlement to dynastic rank, titles and styles...
s among the sovereign houses of Europe and, particularly, among the semi-sovereign dynasties which reigned directly under the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
and held voting seats in his Imperial Diet
Imperial Diet
Imperial Diet means the highest representative assembly in an empire, notably:* the historic institution of the Imperial Diet , either the estates in the Holy Roman Empire...
. These laws either required the monarch's authorization for a dynastic marriage, or stipulated with whom a dynast must marry to comply with the principle of Ebenbürtigkeit, i.e., to contract an equal marriage
Equal marriage
Equal marriage can refer to:*The custom or legal requirement of Ebenbürtigkeit practiced by royalty in Europe and elsewhere; see Royal intermarriage....
, or both. Marriages which did not comply with this standard were considered non-dynastic, either being a mismarriage (inherently unequal, thus non-dynastic) or a morganatic marriage (unequal by mutual consent of the spouses or non-dynastic by monarchical decision).
If a member of a royal family marries someone of inappropriate status, that prince or princess often loses succession rights, titles, or various other royal privileges since nearly all monarchies impose legal restrictions on marriages of dynasts. A frequent occurrence in the past was for the spouse and any children to be denied any prospect of inheriting the dynasty's throne, and to be assigned lesser rank and titles than if the marriage had complied with the dynasty's norms: this was the morganatic marriage
Morganatic marriage
In the context of European royalty, a morganatic marriage is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage...
.
Sometimes these disinherited branches were deemed suitable for marriage into other families. This happened when Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse, GCB was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.-Questioned parentage:...
married the lesser Countess Julia von Hauke. Julia and the morganatic children of this union were given the style of Serene Highness
Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918...
and title of Prince(ss) of Battenberg
Battenberg family
The Battenberg family was a morganatic branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. The first member was Julia Hauke, whose brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse created her Countess of Battenberg with the style Illustrious Highness in 1851, at her...
. The Battenberg family
Battenberg family
The Battenberg family was a morganatic branch of the House of Hesse-Darmstadt, rulers of the Grand Duchy of Hesse in Germany. The first member was Julia Hauke, whose brother-in-law Grand Duke Louis III of Hesse created her Countess of Battenberg with the style Illustrious Highness in 1851, at her...
later married into the royal families of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, and descendants into the royal families of Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, and other countries. Similarly, the Teck
Teck
Teck was a ducal castle in the kingdom of Württemberg, immediately to the north of the Swabian Jura and south of the town of Kirchheim unter Teck , taking its name from the ridge, 2544 feet high, which it crowned. It was destroyed in the German Peasants' War...
family, from which Queen Mary of the United Kingdom
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
came, was a morganatic branch of the royal House of Württemberg
Württemberg
Württemberg , formerly known as Wirtemberg or Wurtemberg, is an area and a former state in southwestern Germany, including parts of the regions Swabia and Franconia....
.
Modern examples
- Prince Nikolaus of LiechtensteinPrince Nikolaus of LiechtensteinPrince Nikolaus Ferdinand Maria Josef Raphael of Liechtenstein , is the third son of Franz Joseph II, Prince of Liechtenstein and his wife Countess Gina von Wilczek. Prince Nikolaus was born in Zurich, and is the Ambassador of Liechtenstein in Belgium and non-resident Ambassador to the Holy See...
and Princess Margaretha of LuxembourgPrincess Margaretha of LiechtensteinPrincess Margaretha of Liechtenstein is the fourth child and second daughter of Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg...
in 1982 (the most recent example of intermarriage between two of Europe's current reigning dynasties) - Constantine II of GreeceConstantine II of Greece|align=right|Constantine II was King of Greece from 1964 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1973, the sixth and last monarch of the Greek Royal Family....
and Princess Anne Marie of DenmarkQueen Anne-Marie of GreeceQueen Anne-Marie of Greece is the wife of former King Constantine II of Greece, who was deposed in referendums in 1973 and in 1974. Her title "Queen of Greece" is not recognized under the terms of the republican Constitution of Greece...
in 1964 - Juan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I of SpainJuan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
and Princess Sophia of GreeceQueen Sofía of SpainQueen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...
in 1962 - Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and Prince Philip of Greece in 1947 - Umberto II of ItalyUmberto II of ItalyUmberto II, occasionally anglicized as Humbert II was the last King of Italy for slightly over a month, from 9 May 1946 to 12 June 1946. He was nicknamed the King of May -Biography:...
and Princess Marie José of Belgium in 1930 - Boris III of BulgariaBoris III of BulgariaBoris III the Unifier, Tsar of Bulgaria , originally Boris Klemens Robert Maria Pius Ludwig Stanislaus Xaver , son of Ferdinand I, came to the throne in 1918 upon the abdication of his father, following the defeat of the Kingdom of Bulgaria during World War I...
and Giovanna of ItalyGiovanna of ItalyJoanna of Italy was the last Tsaritsa of Bulgaria.-Childhood:Giovanna was born in Rome, the third daughter and fourth child of King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy and Queen Elena, former Princess of Montenegro...
in 1930
Examples of multiple kinships
A well-known example of mid-20th century royal intermarriage was that of Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
(born a Prince of Greece and Denmark). Prince Philip is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, was the seventh child and fourth son of King George I of Greece and Olga Constantinovna of Russia. He was a grandson of Christian IX of Denmark.He began military training at an early age, and was...
and Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg
Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark was the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and mother-in-law of Elizabeth II....
, whose mother Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine
Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven was the eldest daughter of Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine and his first wife Princess Alice of the United Kingdom .Her mother died while her brother and sisters...
and paternal grandfather, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine
Prince Alexander Ludwig Georg Friedrich Emil of Hesse, GCB was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.-Questioned parentage:...
, were both members of the same paternal family.
Princess Alice's paternal uncle, Prince Henry of Battenberg
Prince Henry of Battenberg
Colonel Prince Henry of Battenberg was a morganatic descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, later becoming a member of the British Royal Family, through his marriage to Princess Beatrice.-Early life:...
married Princess Beatrice (a daughter of Elizabeth II's great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria). Their daughter, Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg married King Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII of Spain
Alfonso XIII was King of Spain from 1886 until 1931. His mother, Maria Christina of Austria, was appointed regent during his minority...
, and her grandson, the present king, Juan Carlos
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I |Italy]]) is the reigning King of Spain.On 22 November 1975, two days after the death of General Francisco Franco, Juan Carlos was designated king according to the law of succession promulgated by Franco. Spain had no monarch for 38 years in 1969 when Franco named Juan Carlos as the...
, married Princess Sophia of Greece & Denmark
Queen Sofía of Spain
Queen Sofía of Spain is the wife of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.-Early life and family:Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark was born in Psychiko, Athens, Greece on 2 November 1938, the eldest child of the King Paul of Greece and his wife, Queen Frederika , a former princess of Hanover...
, whose father was a cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
.
Likewise, Queen Elizabeth's great-great-grandfather, King Christian IX of Denmark, was also Prince Philip's great-grandfather. They are also related several times through Princess Sophia, Electress of Hanover
Sophia of Hanover
Sophia of the Palatinate was an heiress to the crowns of England and Ireland and later the crown of Great Britain. She was declared heiress presumptive by the Act of Settlement 1701...
.
Below is shown how each of Europe's 10 currently reigning hereditary monarchs since 1939 descends from a common ancestor, Johan Willem Friso, Prince of Orange.
| Title | Monarch | Country | Cousin | Removed | Most Recent Common Ancestor Most recent common ancestor In genetics, the most recent common ancestor of any set of organisms is the most recent individual from which all organisms in the group are directly descended... | Death of MRCA | Gen. from JWF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Queen | Elizabeth II | United Kingdom | |||||
| ------ | 9 | ||||||
| King | Harald V | Norway | 2nd | none | Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910... |
6-May-1910 | 10 |
| " " | " " | " " | 3rd | none | Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish... |
29-Jan-1906 | 10 |
| Queen | Margrethe II | Denmark | 3rd | none | Christian IX of Denmark | 29-Jan-1906 | 10 |
| King | Carl XVI Gustaf | Sweden | 3rd | none | Queen Victoria | 22-Jan-1901 | 10 |
| King | Juan Carlos I | Spain | 3rd | none | Queen Victoria | 22-Jan-1901 | 10 |
| King | Albert II | Belgium | 3rd | none | Christian IX of Denmark | 29-Jan-1906 | 10 |
| Grand Duke | Henri | Luxembourg | 3rd | once | Christian IX of Denmark | 29-Jan-1906 | 10 |
| Queen | Beatrix | Netherlands | 5th | none | Frederick II Eugene, Duke of Württemberg | 25-Dec-1797 | 9 |
| " " | " " | " " | 5th | once | Frederick Francis I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg | 1-Feb-1837 | " " |
| Prince | Hans-Adam II | Liechtenstein | 7th | once | John William Friso, Prince of Orange | 14-Jul-1711 | 10 |
| Prince | Albert II | Monaco | 7th | twice | John William Friso, Prince of Orange | 14-Jul-1711 | 11 |
Other contemporary examples include Greece-Denmark, Italy (Savoy)-Greece, Yugoslavia-Brazil, Yugoslavia-Italy, Belgium-Austria, Luxemburg-Austria, Luxemburg-Liechtenstein, Bavaria-Liechtenstein, Hanover-Monaco, Oldenburg-Austria, Orleans-Liechtenstein, Wurttemberg-Orleans and Wurttemberg-Bavaria.
Grandchildren of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX
In early twentieth century Europe, the grandchildren of Queen Victoria and King Christian IXRoyal descendants of Queen Victoria and King Christian IX
The royal descendants of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and King Christian IX of Denmark currently occupy the thrones of Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. At the outbreak of the First World War their grandchildren occupied the thrones of Denmark, Greece, Norway,...
were prevalent throughout most of Europe's royal courts. The British throne was occupied by King Edward VII
Edward VII of the United Kingdom
Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, who was married to Princess Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, the daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX of Denmark
Christian IX was King of Denmark from 16 November 1863 to 29 January 1906.Growing up as a prince of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, a junior branch of the House of Oldenburg which had ruled Denmark since 1448, Christian was originally not in the immediate line of succession to the Danish...
. German Emperor William was the son of German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess Royal
Victoria, Princess Royal
The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest child of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Prince Albert. She was created Princess Royal of the United Kingdom in 1841. She became German Empress and Queen of Prussia by marriage to German Emperor Frederick III...
, the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Another of Victoria's daughters, Princess Alice, married Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and by Rhine
Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse
Louis IV , was the fourth Grand Duke of Hesse and by Rhine, reigning from 13 June 1877 until his death...
, whose daughter Princess Alix became Empress of Russia as the consort of Tsar Nicholas II
Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II was the last Emperor of Russia, Grand Prince of Finland, and titular King of Poland. His official short title was Nicholas II, Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias and he is known as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer by the Russian Orthodox Church.Nicholas II ruled from 1894 until...
. Nicholas himself was the son of Tsar Alexander III
Alexander III of Russia
Alexander Alexandrovich Romanov , historically remembered as Alexander III or Alexander the Peacemaker reigned as Emperor of Russia from until his death on .-Disposition:...
and Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar, another daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark.
Example of dynastic intra-marriage
Prince David Bagration of MukhraniDavid Bagration of Mukhrani
David Bagrationi of Moukhrani, David Bagration de Moukhrani y de Zornoza, or Davit' Bagration-Mukhraneli is a claimant to the headship of the Royal House of Georgia and to the historical thrones of Georgia, succeeding on the death of his father Jorge de Bagration on January 16, 2008.-Early...
married Princess Anna Bagration-Gruzinsky
Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky
Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky is the head of the deposed House of Gruzinsky and represents its claim to the former crown of Georgia.-Biography:...
on 8 February 2009 at the Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral
Tbilisi Sameba Cathedral
The Holy Trinity Cathedral of Tbilisi commonly known as Sameba is the main Cathedral of the Georgian Orthodox Church located in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Constructed between 1995 and 2004, it is the third-tallest Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the World...
. The marriage united the Bagration-Gruzinsky
Gruzinsky
Gruzinsky was a title and later the surname of two different princely lines of the Bagrationi dynasty of Georgia, both of which received it as the subjects of the Russian Empire. The name "Gruzinsky" derives from Russian, originally and literally meaning "of Georgia"...
(Kakheti) and Bagration-Moukhransky
House of Mukhrani
The house of Mukhrani is a Georgian princely family, a collateral branch of the former royal dynasty of Bagrationi of which it sprung early in the 16th century, and received in appanage the domain of Mukhrani located in Kartli, central Georgia...
(Mukhraneli) branches of the former royal family
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
of Georgia
Kingdom of Georgia
The Kingdom of Georgia was a medieval monarchy established in AD 978 by Bagrat III.It flourished during the 11th and 12th centuries, the so-called "golden age" of the history of Georgia. It fell to the Mongol invasions of the 13th century, but managed to re-assert sovereignty by 1327...
, and drew a crowd of 3,000 spectators, officials, and foreign diplomats, as well as extensive coverage by the Georgian media
Georgian Media
The Media in Georgia is relatively accessible and caters to a wide variety of audiences. A large percentage of households have a television, and most have at least one radio...
.
The dynastic significance of the wedding lay in the fact that, amidst the turmoil in political partisanship that has roiled Georgia since its independence in 1991, Patriarch Ilia II
Ilia II
Ilia II is the current Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia and the spiritual leader of the Georgian Orthodox Church...
of Georgia publicly called for restoration of the monarchy as a path toward national unity in October 2007. Although this led some politicians and parties to entertain the notion of a Georgian constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy
Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified or blended constitution...
, competition arose among the old Bagrationi dynasty
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
's princes and supporters, as historians and jurists
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
debated which Bagrationi has the strongest hereditary right to a throne that has been vacant for two centuries.
Aside from his unmarried elder brother, Prince David is the heir male
Heirs of the body
Heirs of the body is the term for the English legal principle that certain types of property pass to a descendant of the original holder, recipient or grantee according to a fixed order of kinship...
of the Bagration family
Bagrationi Dynasty
The Bagrationi dynasty was the ruling family of Georgia. Their ascendency lasted from the early Middle Ages until the early 19th century. In modern usage, this royal line is frequently referred to as the Georgian Bagratids, a Hellenized form of their dynastic name.The origin of the Bagrationi...
, while the bride's father, Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky
Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky
Prince Nugzar Bagration-Gruzinsky is the head of the deposed House of Gruzinsky and represents its claim to the former crown of Georgia.-Biography:...
, is the most senior descendant of the last Bagrationi to reign over the united kingdom of Georgia. But the marriage between the Gruzinsky heiress and the Mukhrani heir resolves their rivalry for the claim to the throne, which has recently divided Georgian monarchists. The couple's first child, Prince George Bagration-Bagrationi was born on September 27, 2011.
Royal intermarriage outside of Europe
Although the practice of royal intermarriage was most dominant in Europe, it was not unheard of nor frowned upon in other areas.Africa
The reignReign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ing dynasties of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
, KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa. Prior to 1994, the territory now known as KwaZulu-Natal was made up of the province of Natal and the homeland of KwaZulu....
and Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
are related in the following fashion: Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
belongs to a cadet branch
Cadet branch
Cadet branch is a term in genealogy to describe the lineage of the descendants of the younger sons of a monarch or patriarch. In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets – titles, realms, fiefs, property and income – have...
of the Thembu
Thembu
The Thimbu are one of the handful of nations and population groups which speak Xhosa in South Africa. In Xhosa the name is abaThembu, aba- being a common prefix for peoples....
dynasty, which reigns in the Transkeian Territories
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
of South Africa's Cape Province
Cape Province
The Province of the Cape of Good Hope was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa...
. His patrilineal
Patrilineality
Patrilineality is a system in which one belongs to one's father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritance of property, names or titles through the male line as well....
great-grandfather Ngubengcuka
Ngubengcuka
Ngubengcuka was the king of the Thembu people, in the southern part of the Transkei region of South Africa. Known as Inkosi Enkhulu , Ngubengcuka united the Thembu nation before it was subjected to British colonial rule...
, who died in 1832, ruled as the Inkosi Enkhulu, or king
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
, of the Thembu people. One of the king's sons, named Mandela, became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because he was only the Inkosi's child by a wife of the Ixhiba clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, the so-called "Left-Hand House", the descendants of his branch of the royal family were not eligible to succeed to the Thembu throne (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
to the so-called "left-hand marriage" or morganatic marriage of European history). Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa
Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa
Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa was a member of the Thembu tribe of South Africa, and the chief of Mvezo, a tiny village on the banks of the Mbashe River, known today as the Bashee River. He was the father of anti-apartheid activist and South African president Nelson Mandela...
, served as chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
of Mvezo
Mvezo
Mvezo is a small village on the banks of the Mbashe river in the District of Umtata, the capital of the Transkei, an area in the South Eastern area of South Africa. The village is mainly known as being the birthplace of former South African president Nelson Mandela, whose family serves as its...
in the Transkei. Nelson Mandela's daughter, Zeni Mandela, is married to Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini, an elder brother of both Mswati III, reigning King of Swaziland, and of Queen Mantfombi Dlamini, the Great Wife
Consort
Consort may refer to:Titles:* Queen consort, wife of a reigning king* Prince consort, husband of a reigning queen* King consort, rarely used alternative title for husband of a reigning queen...
of the reign
Reign
A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation or of a people . In most hereditary monarchies and some elective monarchies A reign is the term used to describe the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office...
ing King of KwaZulu-Natal, Goodwill Zwelithini). Prince Thumbumuzi, King Mswati III and Queen Mantfombi are all children of the late King Sobhuza II of Swaziland. Queen Mantfombi's eldest son, Prince Misuzulu, is a prime candidate to inherit his father's throne.
China
Unlike in Europe, Chinese emperors were not quite as concerned about the dynastic status of their wives and concubines. Nevertheless, royal intermarriage was not uncommon in China. In times when there were several rival dynasties vying for control, Chinese rulers used royal intermarriage as a way to maintain a balance of power or to solidify alliances between states. In times when there was only one dynasty in China, emperors often married their daughters or other female members of their families to foreign leadersHeqin
Heqin was a term used in ancient China for an alliance by marriage. It usually referred to the Chinese Emperor marrying off a "princess" to an aggressive "barbarian" chieftain or ruler. The theory was that in exchange for the marriage, the chieftain would cease all aggressive actions toward China...
in order to maintain peace between their two nations.
The following Chinese royals married princes or princesses from other ruling families:
- In 582 A.D., Yang Guang, Prince of Jin (later Emperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...
), the second son of Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
, married Princess Xiao of Western LiangEmpress Xiao (Yang)Empress Xiao , formally Empress Min , was an empress of the Chinese Sui Dynasty...
, the daughter of Emperor Ming of Western LiangEmperor Ming of Western LiangEmperor Ming of Western Liang , personal name Xiao Kui , courtesy name Renyuan , was a emperor of the Chinese Liang Dynasty...
, a vassal of Emperor Wen, as his wife and consort. The marriage had been arranged by their fathers to seal an alliance between the their two states. - In addition to Princess Xiao, Emperor YangEmperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...
also took as a concubine Princess Chou, daughter of Chen ShubaoChen ShubaoChen Shubao , often known in history as Houzhu of Chen , posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng , courtesy name Yuanxiu , nickname Huangnu , was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...
, the last emperor of the Chen DynastyChen DynastyThe Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....
. - When Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
successfully conquered the Chen DynastyChen DynastyThe Chen Dynasty , also known as the Southern Chen Dynasty, was the fourth and last of the Southern dynasties in China, eventually destroyed by the Sui Dynasty....
, he took the defeated Chen emperor, Chen Shubao'sChen ShubaoChen Shubao , often known in history as Houzhu of Chen , posthumous name Duke Yang of Changcheng , courtesy name Yuanxiu , nickname Huangnu , was the last emperor of the Chinese Chen Dynasty...
, younger sister, Princess NingyuanConsort Chen (Wen)Consort Chen , born Princess Ningyuan was a daughter of Emperor Xuan of Chen and imperial concubine to Emperor Wen of Sui, founder of the Sui Dynasty.-Biography:...
, as a concubine. - Yang YongYang YongEmperor Yang Yong , nickname Xiandifa , sometimes known by his posthumous title of Prince of Fangling , was a crown prince of the Chinese dynasty Sui Dynasty. He was the oldest son of Emperor Wen and his wife Empress Dugu Qieluo...
, eldest son and initial crown prince of Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
, married Lady Yuan, daughter of official Yuan Xiaoju and a minor princess of the royal house of Northern WeiNorthern WeiThe Northern Wei Dynasty , also known as the Tuoba Wei , Later Wei , or Yuan Wei , was a dynasty which ruled northern China from 386 to 534 . It has been described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change"...
, as his crown princess. - Yuwen TaiYuwen TaiYuwen Tai , nickname Heita , formally Duke Wen of Anding , later further posthumously honored by Northern Zhou initially as Prince Wen then as Emperor Wen with the temple name Taizu , was the paramount general of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei, a branch successor state of Northern Wei...
, paramount general (and later emperor) of Northern ZhouNorthern ZhouThe Northern Zhou Dynasty followed the Western Wei, and ruled northern China from 557 to 581. It was overthrown by the Sui Dynasty.Northern Zhou's basis of power was established by Yuwen Tai, who was paramount general of Western Wei, following the split of Northern Wei into Western Wei and...
, married Princess Fengyi of Northern Wei as his second wife and consort. - One of Yuwen Tai's daughtersEmpress YuwenEmpress Yuwen was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei — a branch successor state of Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Fei , and her father was Western Wei's paramount general Yuwen Tai....
became the empress of Emperor Fei of Western WeiEmperor Fei of Western WeiEmperor Fei of Western Wei , personal name Yuan Qin , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state of Northern Wei. He, even more so than his father Emperor Wen, held little actual power in the face of overwhelming control of power by the paramount general...
. - Yuwen Jue, Duke of Lüeyang (later Emperor Xiaomin of Northern ZhouEmperor Xiaomin of Northern ZhouEmperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou , personal name Yuwen Jue , nickname Tuoluoni , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou Emperor Xiaomin of Northern Zhou ((北)周孝閔帝) (542–557), personal name Yuwen Jue (宇文覺), nickname Tuoluoni (陀羅尼), was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty...
) married as his duchess Yuan Humo, the Princess Jin'anEmpress Yuan HumoEmpress Yuan Humo was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou .Yuan Humo was the fifth daughter of Emperor Wen of Western Wei, and she carried the title Princess Jin'an during the...
, fifth daughter of Emperor Wen of Western WeiEmperor Wen of Western WeiEmperor Wen of Western Wei , personal name Yuan Baoju , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state to Northern Wei...
. - Emperor Xuan of Northern ZhouEmperor Xuan of Northern ZhouEmperor Xuan of Northern Zhou , personal name Yuwen Yun , courtesy name Qianbo , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou. He was known in history as an erratic and wasteful ruler, whose actions greatly weakened the Northern Zhou regime...
married as his empress Yang LihuaEmpress Yang LihuaEmpress Yang Lihua was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou, and later a princess of Sui Dynasty. Her husband was Emperor Xuan of Northern Zhou , and her father was Emperor Wen of Sui ....
, eldest daughter of Emperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of SuiEmperor Wen of Sui — personal name Yang Jian , Xianbei name Puliuru Jian , nickname Naluoyan — was the founder and first emperor of China's Sui Dynasty . He was a hard-working administrator and a micromanager. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through the state...
. - Emperor Taizong of TangEmperor Taizong of TangEmperor Taizong of Tang , personal name Lǐ Shìmín , was the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649...
took a daughter of Emperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of SuiEmperor Yang of Sui , personal name Yang Guang , alternative name Ying , nickname Amo , known as Emperor Ming during the brief reign of his grandson Yang Tong), was the second son of Emperor Wen of Sui, and the second emperor of China's Sui Dynasty.Emperor Yang's original name was Yang Ying, but...
as a concubine. - Qing Dynasty emperor Huang Taiji married as his empress Princess Borjigit Jere, a member of the extended Mongolian imperial clanBorjiginBorjigin , also known as the Altan urug , were the imperial clan of Genghis Khan and his successors....
. He also took as concubines Jere's nieces Princess Bumbutai and Princess He Lan Zhu. - Prince PujiePujie-External links:**...
, second son of Zaifeng, 2nd Prince ChunZaifeng, 2nd Prince ChunThe 2nd Prince Chun was born Zaifeng , of the Manchu Aisin-Gioro clan . He was the leader of China between 1908 and 1911, serving as regent for his son Puyi, the Xuantong Emperor.His courtesy name was Yiyun...
and younger brother of Emperor PuyiPuyiPuyi , of the Manchu Aisin Gioro clan, was the last Emperor of China, and the twelfth and final ruler of the Qing Dynasty. He ruled as the Xuantong Emperor from 1908 until his abdication on 12 February 1912. From 1 to 12 July 1917 he was briefly restored to the throne as a nominal emperor by the...
, married as his first wife minor Manchurian princess Tung Tsih-shia in 1924. He divorced her two years later. - Emperor Daowu of Northern WeiEmperor Daowu of Northern WeiEmperor Daowu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Gui , né Tuoba Shegui , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the grandson of the last prince of Dai, Tuoba Shiyijian, and after the fall of the Dai state to Former Qin in 376 had been presumed to be the...
married the daughterEmpress Murong (Daowu)Empress Murong , formally Empress Daowu , was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei Dynasty. Her husband was the founding emperor Emperor Daowu ....
of Murong BaoMurong BaoMurong Bao , courtesy name Daoyou , formally Emperor Huimin of Yan , temple name Liezong or Liezu , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Later Yan...
, the last emperor of Later YanLater YanThe Later Yan was a Murong-Xianbei state, located in modern day northeast China, during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.All rulers of the Later Yan declared themselves "emperors". Later Yan fell to the Goguryeo dynasty.-Rulers of the Later Yan:...
, as his wife and empress. - In addition to Empress MurongEmpress Murong (Daowu)Empress Murong , formally Empress Daowu , was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei Dynasty. Her husband was the founding emperor Emperor Daowu ....
, Emperor Daowu of Northern WeiEmperor Daowu of Northern WeiEmperor Daowu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Gui , né Tuoba Shegui , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the grandson of the last prince of Dai, Tuoba Shiyijian, and after the fall of the Dai state to Former Qin in 376 had been presumed to be the...
also married the daughter of XiongnuXiongnuThe Xiongnu were ancient nomadic-based people that formed a state or confederation north of the agriculture-based empire of the Han Dynasty. Most of the information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources...
chief Liu Toujuan as his concubine - Emperor Taiwu of Northern WeiEmperor Taiwu of Northern WeiEmperor Taiwu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Tao , nickname Foli , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...
married as his empress a daughterEmpress HelianEmpress Helian , formally Empress Taiwu , was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Taiwu.She was a daughter of the Xia's founding emperor Helian Bobo...
of Helian BoboHelian BoboHelian Bobo , né Liu Bobo , courtesy name Qujie , formally Emperor Wulie of Xia , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia...
, founding emperor of XiaXia (Sixteen Kingdoms)Tiefu was a pre-state Xiongnu tribe during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Its chieftain Liu Bobo established the state of Xia in 407 and changed his family name into Helian....
. He also took Empress Helian'sEmpress HelianEmpress Helian , formally Empress Taiwu , was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Taiwu.She was a daughter of the Xia's founding emperor Helian Bobo...
two younger sisters as concubines. - Helian BoboHelian BoboHelian Bobo , né Liu Bobo , courtesy name Qujie , formally Emperor Wulie of Xia , was the founding emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia...
married Lady Mo, a daughter of XianbeiXianbeiThe Xianbei were a significant Mongolic nomadic people residing in Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and eastern Mongolia. The title “Khan” was first used among the Xianbei.-Origins:...
chief Mo Yigan, as his first wife and consort. - Emperor Wen of Western WeiEmperor Wen of Western WeiEmperor Wen of Western Wei , personal name Yuan Baoju , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei -- a branch successor state to Northern Wei...
married as his second empress Lady YujiulüEmpress YujiulüEmpress Yujiulü , formally Empress Dao , was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei state Western Wei — a branch successor state of Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Wen....
, the daughter of Yujiulü AnaguiYujiulü AnaguiYujiulü Anagui khan of the Rouran with the title of Chiliantoubingdoufa Khan . He was succeeded by Yujiulü Tiefa.When Bumin Qaghan wanted to marry a princess of the royal family, Anagui sent an emissary to Bumin to rebuke him, saying, "You are my blacksmith slave...
, Chiliantoubingdoufa KhanKhan (title)Khan is an originally Altaic and subsequently Central Asian title for a sovereign or military ruler, widely used by medieval nomadic Turko-Mongol tribes living to the north of China. 'Khan' is also seen as a title in the Xianbei confederation for their chief between 283 and 289...
of RouranRouranRouran , Mongolia name Jujan or Nirun Ruanruan/Ruru , Tan Tan , Juan-Juan or Zhu-Zhuwas the name of a confederation of nomadic tribes on the northern borders of Inner China from the late 4th century until the middle 6th century...
. - Princess Taihe of TangPrincess TaihePrincess Taihe , later known as Princess Ding'an or Princess Anding , was a princess of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and a Kedun of Huigu...
, tenth daughter of Emperor Xianzong of TangEmperor Xianzong of TangEmperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
, married Chongde Khan, ruler of Huigu, as his Kedun (equivalent to the Chinese empress. - Princess WenchengPrincess WenchengPrincess Wencheng was a niece of the powerful Emperor Taizong of China's Tang Dynasty, who left China in 640, according to records, arriving the next year in Tibet to marry the thirty-seven year old Songtsän Gampo the thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet, in a marriage of...
, a relation to the Tang DynastyTang DynastyThe Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...
imperial clan, married Songtsän Gampo, thirty-third king of the Yarlung Dynasty in TibetTibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...
. - Princess Anhua of Tang, second daughter of Emperor Xianzong of TangEmperor Xianzong of TangEmperor Xianzong of Tang , personal name Li Chun , né Li Chun , was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty...
, married Longshun, ruler of NanzhaoNanzhaoNanzhao, alternate spellings Nanchao and Nan Chao was a polity that flourished in what is now southern China and Southeast Asia during the 8th and 9th centuries...
. - Helian ChangHelian ChangHelian Chang , courtesy name Huan'guo , nickname Zhe , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xiongnu state Xia. He was the successor and a son of the founding emperor Helian Bobo . After his father's death in 425, he tried to expand Xia further, but soon his state began to collapse in light of pressure...
married Princess Shiping of Northern Wei, sister of Emperor Taiwu of Northern WeiEmperor Taiwu of Northern WeiEmperor Taiwu of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Tao , nickname Foli , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...
and daughter of Emperor Mingyuan of Northern WeiEmperor Mingyuan of Northern WeiEmperor Mingyuan of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Si , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. He was the oldest son of the founding emperor Emperor Daowu...
, as his second wife and empress. - Emperor Wencheng of Northern WeiEmperor Wencheng of Northern WeiEmperor Wencheng of Northern Wei , personal name Tuoba Jun , was an emperor of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei...
married as his empress Lady FengEmpress Feng (Wencheng)Empress Feng , formally Empress Wenming was an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Wei. Her husband was Emperor Wencheng...
, granddaughter of last emperor of Northern YanNorthern YanThe Northern Yan was a state of Han Chinese during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China.The second Emperor of Northern Yan, Feng Ba, was Han chinese.All rulers of the Northern Yan declared themselves "emperors".-Rulers of the Northern Yan:...
Feng HongFeng HongFeng Hong , courtesy name Wentong , formally Emperor Zhaocheng of Yan , was the last emperor of the Chinese state Northern Yan. He seized the throne in 430 when his brother Feng Ba was ill, and he used the title "Heavenly Prince"...
.
Korea
Royal intermarriage existed in Korea, but was not widespread except during the Three Kingdoms of Korea periodThree Kingdoms of Korea
The Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
.
The following are several examples of Korean royal intermarriage:
- The Silla Kingdom had a practiceBone rank systemThe bone rank system was the system of aristocratic rank used in the ancient Korean kingdom of Silla. It was used to segregate society, and particularly the layers of the aristocracy, on the basis of their hereditary proximity to the throne and the level of authority they were permitted to wield...
that limited the succession to the throne to members of the seonggol, or "sacred bone", rank. To maintain their "sacred bone" rank, members of this caste often intermarried with one another in the same fashion that European royals intermarried to maintain a "pure" royal pedigree. - Princess Seonhwa of Silla, daughter of King Jinpyeong of SillaJinpyeong of SillaJinpyeong of Silla is the 26th king of the Silla Dynasty, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. King Jinpyeong followed in the footsteps of King Jinheung by reorganizing the central ruling system, and as many conflicts with Baekje and Goguryeo arose, sent emissaries to improve relations and...
and sister of Queen SeondeokQueen Seondeok of SillaQueen Seondeok of Silla reigned as Queen of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, from 632 to 647. She was Silla's twenty-seventh ruler, and its first reigning queen...
, is thought to have married King Mu of BaekjeMu of BaekjeKing Mu of Baekje was the 30th king of Baekje, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was the son of King Wideok.- Background :...
in a rare incident of royal intermarriage between a seonggol Silla princess and a royal from another Korean kingdomThree Kingdoms of KoreaThe Three Kingdoms of Korea refer to the ancient Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje and Silla, which dominated the Korean peninsula and parts of Manchuria for much of the 1st millennium...
. - Members of the Silla royal family who were not seonggol were considered jingol, or "true blood". Although not dynasts (in essence they were morganatic members of the royal clan), they were often still of pure royal or aristocratic blood, as jingol often married members of the noble Bak and Seok clans of Gyeongju, Nagan or the Kimhae Kim clan, a branch of the royal house of Geumgwan GayaGeumgwan GayaGeumgwan Gaya , also known as Bon-Gaya or Garakguk , was the ruling city-state of the Gaya confederacy during the Three Kingdoms Period in Korea. It is believed to have been located around the modern-day city of Gimhae, Southern Gyeongsang province, near the mouth of the Nakdong River...
. - In 1920, Crown Prince Euimin of KoreaCrown Prince EuiminPrince Imperial Yeong, the Crown Prince Uimin , also known as Yi Un, Yi Eun, Lee Eun, and Un Yi , was the 28th Head of Korean Imperial House, and the last crown prince of Korea....
was married to Princess Masako of Nashimoto. The marriage was arranged by the Japanese in an attempt to introduce Japanese blood into the Korean royal line.
Middle East
- Mohammed Reza Pahlavi of Iran and Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (1939–1948)
Recently there have been marriages between the royal families of the Middle East:
- HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...
of DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
to Her Royal Highness Princess Haya bint HusseinHaya bint HusseinHaya bint Al Hussein, is one of King Hussein I of Jordan's daughters and a wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. She is known as Her Royal Highness Princess Haya of Jordan , a title derived from her father.-Education:...
of JordanJordanJordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing... - HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi crown prince of FujairahFujairahFujairah is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates, and the only one on the Gulf of Oman in the country's east instead of Persian Gulf .-History:...
to HH Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:... - HH Sheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al KhalifaShaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al KhalifaSheikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa is the president of the Bahrain Royal Equestrian and Endurance Federation...
of BahrainBahrain' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
to HH Sheikha Shaikha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:... - HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu DhabiAbu DhabiAbu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
to HH Sheikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al MaktoumMohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum , also Sheikh Mohammed, , is the Prime Minister and Vice President of the United Arab Emirates , and absolute monarch of Dubai.-Personal life and education:...