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Royal intermarriage

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	Topics Royal intermarriage Topic Home Royal intermarriage is the practice of members of royal families marrying into other royal families. It was more commonly done in the past for reasons of state and in order to maintain the purity of bloodlines. Historically, royal marriages often sealed alliancesAlliances Alliances can refer to:* Alliances, an expansion for the trading card game Magic: The Gathering... or pacts, and were instrumental in many countries' diplomatic relations. Over many generations, intermarriage between royals came to a point where most royals became related to all other royals. Marriage for purity Royal intermarriage became practiced widely as a way of ensuring all members of a royal family were descended from royalty as opposed to commoners. This class distinction gave rise to many house laws stipulating who a dynast could marry to have an equal marriage; marriages outside this were considered morganatic. This often occurred in monarchies with such small courts that it became a means of maintaining relations, such as EuropeEurope Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... and princely IndiaIndia India , officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia.... under the British RajBritish Raj The British Raj refers to the British rule of the Indian subcontinent, or present-day India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Myanm... . Morganatic marriage If a member of royal family married someone not of appropriate status, they sometimes lost succession rights, titles, or other varied royal privileges. A frequent occurrence was for their children and spouse to receive a lesser title, although these cadet branches sometimes were deemed suitable for marriage into other families. This occurred when Prince Alexander of Hesse and by RhinePrince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Alexander of Hesse GCB, was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.... married the lesser Countess Julia von Hauke. Julia and the morganatic children of this union were given the style of Serene HighnessSerene Highness Serene Highness – His Serene Highness or Her Serene Highness.... and title of Prince(ss) of BattenbergFacts About Battenberg Battenberg may refer to:* Battenberg, Hesse, a town in Hesse, Germany... . The Battenberg familyBattenberg family Battenberg was the title created for the wife of Prince Alexander of Hesse, Countess Julia von Hauke.... later married into the royal families of SwedenSweden The Kingdom of Sweden is a Nordic country in Scandinavia.... and SpainSpain Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a European parliamentary monarchy.... , and descendants into the royal families of BritainUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland \| align="center" colspan="2"\| United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Ireland... , GreeceGreece GreeceGreece lies at the juncture of Europe, Asia, and Africa.... , DenmarkDenmark The Kingdom of Denmark is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries.... , and other countries. Similarly, the TeckTeck You may be looking for Teck Cominco.... family, from which Queen Mary of the United KingdomMary of Teck Mary of Teck* was the Queen Consort of George V of the United Kingdom.... came, was a morganatic branch of the royal House of WürttembergWürttemberg Wrttemberg refers to an area and a former state in Swabia, a region in south-western Germany.... . Interbreeding 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, often to their consorts as well. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royals and nobles descended from the British Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United Kingdom Victoria was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India... or King Christian IX of Denmark. The House of HabsburgHabsburg Habsburg was an important ruling house of Europe and is best known as the ruling House of Austria for over six centuries.... was infamous for its inbreeding, with the Habsburg lipPrognathism The word prognathism derives from Greek pro and ganathos.... cited as an ill-effect. The Habsburgs frequently married within the family and the closely related houses of BourbonHouse of Bourbon The House of Bourbon is an important European royal house.... and Wittelsbach, uncle-niece and double-cousin and first-cousin unions occurring frequently. Modern examples British and Spanish royal families A well-known example of royal intermarriage and interrelation today is that of Elizabeth II of the United KingdomElizabeth II of the United Kingdom }\|-\|\|}Elizabeth II is the Queen of 16 independent sovereign states known as the Commonwealth Realms.... and Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.... (born a Prince of Greece and Denmark). Prince Philip is the son of Prince Andrew of Greece and DenmarkPrince Andrew of Greece and Denmark Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glcksburg, was the son of George I, King ... and Princess Alice of BattenbergPrincess Alice of Battenberg Princess Alice of Battenberg, later Princess Andrew of Greece and Denmark was a great-granddaughter of the British Qu... , whose mother Princess Victoria of Hesse and by RhinePrincess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine, later Victoria Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven , was the eldest dau... and paternal grandfather, Prince Alexander of Hesse and by RhinePrince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine Prince Alexander of Hesse GCB, was the third son and fourth child of Louis II, Grand Duke of Hesse and Wilhelmina of Baden.... , were both members of the same paternal family. Princess Alice's father's brother, Prince Henry of BattenbergPrince Henry of Battenberg Prince Henry of Battenberg was a descendant of the Grand Ducal House of Hesse, and later became a member of the British Roya... , meanwhile, 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 SpainAlfonso XIII of Spain Alfonso XIII of Spain , King of Spain, posthumous son of Alfonso XII of Spain, was proclaimed King at his birth.... , and her grandson, the present king, Juan CarlosJuan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I, King of Spain was born January 5, 1938 in Rome and is the reigning King of Spain '.... , married Princess Sophia of Greece & DenmarkQueen Sofía of Spain Sofa, Queen of Spain, born Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark, is the Queen Consort of King Juan Carlos I of Spain.... , whose father was a cousin of Prince Philip, Duke of EdinburghPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.... . Alternatively, 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 HanoverSophia of Hanover Summary Electress Sophia of Hanover was the youngest daughter of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, of the House of Wittelsbach, the "... . Family tree 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 ... were prevalent throughout most of Europe's royal courts. The British throne was occupied by King Edward VIIEdward VII of the United Kingdom Edward VII was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, King of the Commonwealth Realms, and the Emperor of... , who was married to Princess AlexandraAlexandra of Denmark Queen Alexandra of the United Kingdom , was Queen Consort to Edward VII of the United Kingdom and thus Empress of India duri... , the daughter of King Christian IX of DenmarkFacts About Christian IX of Denmark Christian IX of Denmark was King of Denmark from November 15, 1863 to January 29, 1906.... . German Emperor William was the son of German Emperor Frederick III and Victoria, Princess RoyalVictoria, Princess Royal The Princess Victoria, Princess Royal was the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria and her consort Albert.... , the eldest daughter of Queen Victoria. Another of Victoria's daughters, Princess AliceAlice of the United Kingdom Princess Alice, was a member of the British Royal Family, the third child and second daughter of Queen Victoria.... , married Grand Duke Louis IV of Hesse and by RhineLouis 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 IINicholas II of Russia Nicholas II of Russia was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland.... . Nicholas himself was the son of Tsar Alexander IIIAlexander II of Russia Overview Alexander II Nikolaevitch was the Tsar of Russia from March 2 1855 until his assassination in 1881.... and Princess Marie Sophie Frederikke Dagmar, another daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark. King Christian IX of Denmark.