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{{Short description|Type of marriage between people of unequal social rank}}
[[File:Disderi, Adolphe Eugène (1819-1890) - Borbone, Carlo di, principe di Capua (1811-1862), Penelope Smyth e figlia Vittoria di Borbone (1838-1905).jpg|thumb|[[Charles Ferdinand, Prince of Capua]] (top), with his morganatic wife, the [[Anglo-Irish]] commoner Penelope Smyth (left), and their daughter, Vittoria (right).]]
'''Morganatic marriage''', sometimes called a '''left-handed marriage''',<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stritof|first=Sheri & Bob|url=http://marriage.about.com/od/royalty/g/lefthanded.htm|title=Left-Handed Marriage|publisher=about.com|access-date=2007-03-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218233043/http://marriage.about.com/od/royalty/g/lefthanded.htm|archive-date=2007-12-18|url-status=dead}}</ref> is a [[marriage]] between people of unequal [[social rank]], which in the context of [[royal family|royalty]] or other [[List of titles|inherited title]] prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse, or any children born of the marriage. The concept is most prevalent in German-speaking territories and countries most influenced by the customs of the German-speaking realms.
== Etymology ==
''Morganatic'', already in use in English by 1727 (according to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''), is derived from the [[Latin|medieval Latin]] ''morganaticus'' from the [[Late Latin]] phrase ''matrimonium ad morganaticam'' and refers to the gift given by the groom to the bride on the morning after the wedding, the [[morning gift]], i.e., [[dower]]. The Latin term, applied to a Germanic custom, was adopted from the [[Old High German]] term ''*morgangeba'' (modern German ''Morgengabe''), corresponding to Early English ''morgengifu''. The literal meaning is explained in a 16th-century passage quoted by [[Du Cange]] as, "a marriage by which the wife and the children that may be born are entitled to no share in the husband's possessions beyond the 'morning-gift'".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd Edition</ref><ref name="philo">[[Philological Society]]. A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles. ''Morganatic''. Clarendon Press, 1908. p. 663.</ref>
The ''morning gift'' has been a customary property arrangement for marriage found first in early medieval Germanic cultures (such as the [[Lombards]]) and also among ancient Germanic tribes, and the church drove its adoption into other countries in order to improve the wife's security by this ''additional'' benefit.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} The bride received property from the bridegroom's clan. It was intended to ensure her livelihood in widowhood, and it was to be kept separate as the wife's discrete possession. However, when a marriage contract is made wherein the bride and the children of the marriage will not receive anything else (other than the dower) from the bridegroom or from his inheritance or clan, that sort of marriage was dubbed as "marriage with only the dower and no other inheritance", i.e., ''matrimonium morganaticum''.
==History==
=== Denmark ===
Succession to the Danish throne followed the specifications of the ''[[King's Law|Lex Regia]]'' until the [[Danish Act of Succession]] was passed in 1953. Prominent morganatic marriages include the 1615 marriage of King [[Christian IV of Denmark]] to [[Danish nobility|noblewoman]] [[Kirsten Munk]]. Kirsten was titled "Countess of Schleswig-Holstein" and bore the King 12 children, all styled "Count/Countess of Schleswig-Holstein". [[Frederick VII of Denmark|King Frederick VII]] married the ballerina [[Louise Rasmussen]], who was raised to the rank of "Countess Danner" in 1850. There were no children of this marriage. When [[Christian IX of Denmark]]'s brother, [[Prince Julius of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glucksburg]] married Elisabeth von Ziegesar in 1883, the king granted her the title "Countess of [[Roest (manor)|Røst]]".<ref>Bricka, Carl Fredrik and Laursen, Laurs. Dansk Biografisk Lexikon. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=yJwZAAAAYAAJ&dq=Julius+%22af+Roest%22&pg=PA617 Julius af Glucksborg]''. Gyldendalske Boghandels Forlag, 1894. Volume 8, p. 617. (Danish).</ref>
Until 1971, Danish princes who married women who did not belong to a royal or noble family were refused the sovereign's authorization, renouncing their right of succession to the throne and royal title ([[Prince Aage of Denmark]] morganatically [[eloped]] with Matilda Calvi, daughter of Count Carlo Giorgio di Bergolo, in January 1914 but renounced his dynastic rights and titles subsequently).<ref name="secrets"/><ref name = "gotha"/><ref>[http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/stamtavler/konger/7_Glyksborg/Rosenborg.htm History of Roskilde]. ''[http://www.roskildehistorie.dk/stamtavler/konger/7_Glyksborg/Rosenborg.htm Royal House: Rosenborg]''. Retrieved 2012/5/2. Danish.</ref> They were granted the non-royal prefix of "Prince" and their descendants bear the title [[Count of Rosenborg|Count af Rosenborg]] in the [[Danish nobility]].
Neither of the children of [[Queen Margrethe II]] has married a person of either royal birth or of the titled aristocracy. Members of the Royal Family may still lose their place in the line of succession for themselves and their descendants if they marry without the monarch's permission.
=== France ===
Morganatic marriage was not recognized as a concept in French law.<ref name="montjouvent">de Montjouvent, Philippe. Le comte de Paris et sa descendance. ''Introduction sur la Maison royale de France''. Du Chaney Eds, Paris, 1998, p. 11. French. {{ISBN|2-913211-00-3}}.</ref> Since the law did not distinguish, for marital purposes, between ruler and subjects, marriages between royalty and the noble heiresses to great [[fief]]s became the norm from no later than the 12th century through the 16th century. The practice of marrying non-royal noble heiresses helped to aggrandize the [[Crown lands of France|royal demesne]] and the [[House of Capet]] while gradually diminishing the number of large domains held in theoretical vassalage by nobles who were, in practice, virtually independent of the French crown. The last of these marriages, of [[Catherine de' Medici]] to the future [[Henry II of France|King Henry II]] in 1533, brought the last of these lands, the [[List of rulers of Auvergne#List of Carolingian and French Counts|county of Auvergne]], to the crown of France.<ref name="anselme">{{cite book | title=Histoire de la Maison Royale de France | publisher=Editions du Palais Royal | author=Père Anselme | year=1967 | ___location=Paris | pages=531| author-link=Père Anselme }}</ref>
Antiquity of nobility in the legitimate male line, not noble [[quartering (heraldry)|quartering]]s, was the main criterion of rank in the ''[[ancien régime]]''.<ref name="roque">de la Roque, Gilles-Andre. Traite de la Noblesse. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=VC-OqGr2os0C&q=nom+%26+d%27armes Du Gentilhomme de nom et d'armes]''. Etienne Michalet, Paris, 1678, pp. 5, 8-10.</ref> Unlike the status of a British peer's wife and descendants (yet typical of the nobility of every [[continental Europe]]an country), the legitimate children and male-line descendants of any French nobleman (whether titled or not, whether possessing a [[French peerage]] or not) were also legally noble ''ad infinitum''.<ref name="roque"/> Rank was not based on hereditary titles, which were often assumed or [[Nobility#Ennoblement|acquired by purchase of a noble estate]] rather than granted by the Crown. Rather, the main determinant of relative rank among the French nobility was how far back the nobility of a family's male line could be verifiably traced.<ref name="roque"/> Other factors influencing rank included the family's history of military command, high-ranking offices held at court and marriages into other high-ranking families. A specific exception was made for bearers of the title of duke who, regardless of their origin, outranked all other nobles. But the ducal title in post-medieval France (even when embellished with the still higher status of "peer") ranked its holder and his family among France's nobility and not, as in Germany and Scandinavia (and, occasionally, Italy, [[viz.]] [[House of Savoy|Savoy]], [[Medici]], [[House of Este|Este]], [[della Rovere]], [[House of Farnese|Farnese]] and [[Cybo-Malaspina]]) among Europe's [[reign]]ing dynasties which habitually [[royal intermarriage|intermarried]] with one another.
Once the [[Bourbons]] inherited the throne of France from the [[House of Valois]] in 1589, their [[Dynasty#Dynasts|dynasts]] married daughters of even the oldest ducal families of France — let alone noblewomen of lower rank — quite rarely (viz., [[Anne de Montafié]] in 1601, [[Charlotte Marguerite de Montmorency]] in 1609 and, in exile from revolutionary France, [[Maria Caterina Brignole]] in 1798). Exceptions were made for equal [[royal intermarriage]] with the ''[[princes étrangers]]'' and, by royal command, with the so-called ''[[Prince du sang#Legitimised royal offspring|princes légitimés]]'' (i.e., out-of-wedlock but [[bastardy|legitimised]] descendants of [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] and [[Louis XIV]]), as well as with the nieces of Cardinal-prime ministers (i.e., [[Cardinal Richelieu|Richelieu]], [[Cardinal Mazarin|Mazarin]]). Just as the French king could authorize a royal marriage that would otherwise have been deemed unsuitable, by 1635 it had been established by [[Louis XIII]] that the king could also legally void the canonically valid, [[Royal intermarriage|equal marriage]] of a French dynast to which he had not given consent (e.g., [[Marguerite of Lorraine#Marriage|Marguerite of Lorraine, Duchess of Orléans]]).<ref name="Blet">Blet, Pierre. Le Clergé de France et la Monarchie, Etude sur les Assemblées Générales du Clergé de 1615 à 1666. Université Grégorienne, Rome, 1959, pp. 399-439.</ref><ref name="degert">Degert, (Abbé). "Le mariage de Gaston d'Orléans et de Marguerite de Lorraine," ''Revue Historique'' 143:161-80, 144:1-57. French.</ref>
Moreover, there was a French practice, legally distinct from morganatic marriage but used in similar situations of inequality in status between a member of the royal family and a spouse of lower rank: an "openly secret" marriage. French kings authorized such marriages only when the bride was past child-bearing or the marrying prince already had dynastic heirs by a previous spouse of royal descent. The marriage ceremony took place without [[banns]], in private (with only a priest, the bride and groom, and a few legal witnesses present), and the marriage was never officially acknowledged (although sometimes widely known). Thus, the wife never publicly shared in her husband's titles, rank, or coat of arms.<ref name="pothier">Pothier, Robert. Traité des successions, Chapitre I, section I, article 3, § 4. French.</ref> The lower-ranked spouse, male or female, could only receive from the royal spouse what property the king allowed.
In secret marriage, Louis XIV wed his second wife, [[Madame de Maintenon]], in 1683 (she was nearly 50, so no children were likely); [[Louis, Grand Dauphin|Louis the Grand Dauphin]] wed [[Marie Émilie de Joly de Choin]] in 1695; Anne Marie d'Orléans (''[[La Grande Mademoiselle]]'') wed [[Antoine Nompar de Caumont|Antoine, Duke de Lauzun]] in 1682; and [[Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]] wed the [[Marquise de Montesson]] in 1773. The mechanism of the "secret marriage" rendered it unnecessary for France to legislate the morganatic marriage ''per se''.<ref name="webster"/> Within post-monarchical dynasties, until the end of the 20th century the heads of the Spanish and Italian Bourbon branches, the Orléans of both France and Brazil, and the Imperial Bonapartes have, in exile, exercised claimed authority to exclude from their dynasty descendants born of unapproved marriages — albeit without calling these marriages "morganatic".
===German-speaking Europe===
The practice of morganatic marriage was most common in the [[German-speaking]] parts of Europe, where equality of birth (''Ebenbürtigkeit'') between the spouses was considered an important principle among the reigning houses and high nobility.<ref name="philo"/> The German name was ''Ehe zur linken Hand'' ("marriage by the left hand") and the husband gave his left hand during the wedding ceremony instead of the right.<ref name="secrets"/>
Perhaps the most famous example in modern times was the 1900 marriage of the heir to the throne of [[Austria-Hungary]], [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand]], and Bohemian aristocrat [[Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa]]. The marriage was initially resisted by [[Emperor Franz Joseph I]], but after pressure from family members and other European rulers, he relented in 1899 (but did not attend the wedding himself). The bride was made [[Fürst|Princess]] (later [[Herzog|Duchess]]) of [[Hohenberg family|Hohenberg]], their children took their mother's new name and rank, but were excluded from the imperial succession. The [[Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand|Sarajevo assassination]] in 1914, killing both the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, triggered the [[First World War]].
Although the issue of morganatic marriages were ineligible to succeed to their families' respective thrones, children of morganatic marriages have gone on to achieve dynastic success elsewhere in Europe.<ref name="secrets"/> Descendants of the 1851 marriage of [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]] to the German-Polish noblewoman [[Countess Julia von Hauke]] (created Princess of [[Battenberg (Eder)|Battenberg]]) include [[Alexander of Battenberg|Alexander, sovereign prince of Bulgaria]], queen-consorts of Spain ([[Victoria Eugenie of Battenberg]]) and of Sweden ([[Louise Mountbatten]]), and, in the female line, [[Charles III]] (through his paternal grandmother, [[Alice of Battenberg]]).
Likewise, from the morganatic marriage of [[Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1885)|Duke Alexander of Württemberg]] and [[Countess Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde]] (created Countess von Hohenstein) descends [[Mary of Teck]], who became Britain's queen in 1911 as the consort of King [[George V]].
Occasionally, children of morganatic marriages have overcome their non-dynastic origins and succeeded to their family's realms. [[Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden|Margrave Leopold]] inherited the throne of Baden, despite being born of a morganatic marriage, after all dynastic males of the [[House of Zähringen]] died out. The son of [[Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Baden]], by his second wife [[Louise Caroline of Hochberg|Louise Caroline Geyer von Geyersberg]], who belonged to the minor nobility, Leopold became a prince in 1817, at the age of 27, as the result of a new law of succession. Baden's grand-ducal family faced extinction, so Leopold was enfranchised by international treaty and married to a princess, ascending the throne in 1830. His descendants ruled the grand duchy until the abolition of the monarchy in 1918.
Other reigning German families adopted similar approaches when facing a lack of male heirs. In 1896 the Princely [[House of Schwarzburg]], with the Sondershausen branch numbering two elderly childless princes and Rudolstadt just one childless prince, recognised [[Sizzo, Prince of Schwarzburg|Prince Sizzo von Leutenberg]], morganatic son of [[Friedrich Günther, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt]], as a Prince of Schwarzburg and heir to the two principalities.
The senior line of the dynasty ruling the [[Principality of Lippe]] was bordering on extinction as the 20th century approached, prompting a succession dispute between the [[Lippe-Biesterfeld]] and [[Schaumburg-Lippe]] branches of the dynasty which evoked international intervention and troop movements. It centered on whether some ancestresses of the Biesterfeld branch had been legally dynastic; if so, that line stood next to inherit the princely crown according to primogeniture. If not, the Biesterfelds would be deemed morganatic and the Schaumburg-Lippes would inherit the throne. Lippe's Parliament was blocked from voting on the matter by the German Empire's ''[[Reichstag (German Empire)|Reichstag]]'', which instead created a panel of jurists selected by the King of Saxony to evaluate the evidence concerning the historical marital rules of the House of Lippe and render a decision in the matter, all parties agreeing to abide by their judgment. In 1897 and 1905 panels ruled in favour of the dynasticity of the challenged ancestresses and their descendants, largely because, although neither had been of dynastic rank, the Lippes had historically accepted such marriages for the junior lines when approved by the Head of House.<ref name="encycl2">"[[Hugh Chisholm]], editor. [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition]]. Volume 16. ''[[Principality of Lippe|Lippe]]''. University Press, 1911, pp. 740-741.</ref>
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a few families considered in Germany to be morganatic were considered for crowns elsewhere, constituting unexpected rehabilitation of their status.<ref name="secrets"/> The first of these was [[Alexander of Battenberg|Prince Alexander of Battenberg]], who in 1877 was agreed upon by the [[Great power|Great Powers]] as the best candidate for the new throne of Bulgaria. He was, however, unable to hold onto his crown, and was also unable to obtain the hand in marriage of [[Princess Viktoria of Prussia]] despite the efforts of her [[Victoria, Princess Royal|imperial mother]] and [[Queen Victoria|grandmother]].
[[Mindaugas II#Candidate for various thrones|Wilhelm, Duke of Urach]] (1864–1928), whose father was the morganatic son of a Württemberg prince, had the distinction of being under consideration for the crowns of five realms at different times: the [[Kingdom of Württemberg]] in the 1890s, as the senior [[agnate]] by primogeniture when it became likely that [[William II of Württemberg|King William II]] would die without male descendants, leaving as heir [[Duke Albrecht of Württemberg]], a more distantly related, albeit dynastic, royal kinsman; the [[Principality of Albania]] in 1913; the [[Monarchy of Monaco|Principality of Monaco]] at turn of the 20th century, as the next heir by [[proximity of blood]] following the [[Louis II, Prince of Monaco|Hereditary Prince Louis]], until the [[Monaco succession crisis of 1918]] was resolved as the [[First World War]] ended; the prospective [[Duchy of Lorraine|Grand Duchy of Alsace-Lorraine]] in 1917;<ref>''[[London Times]]''. ''Düsseldorfer Nachrichten'' excerpt. 1918/11/5. p. 8.</ref> and his abortive election by the ''[[Taryba]]'' as King Mindaugas II of Lithuania in July 1918. In the event, Duke Wilhelm was offered none of these thrones.
Relying upon the ''[[Almanach de Gotha]]'' to [[Gazette#Gazette as a verb|gazette]] dynastic events, Germany's deposed heads of state continued to notify its editors of changes in family members' status and traditional titles.<ref name="secrets"/><ref name="gotha"/> In 1919 the morganatic wife and children of [[Prince Oskar of Prussia]], the counts and countesses von Ruppin, were upgraded to princes and princesses of Prussia by the exiled [[Kaiser Wilhelm II]]. In 1928 [[George, Duke of Mecklenburg|Georg, Count von Carlow]], morganatic son of Duke George Alexander of Mecklenburg and commoner Natalia Vanljarskaya, became a duke of Mecklenburg and heir to his uncle [[Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg|Duke Charles Michael]]. In 1949, and again in 1999, various morganatic members of the [[House of Wittelsbach|Bavarian Royal House]] were recognised as princes and princesses of Bavaria, with the current head of the house, [[Franz von Bayern]], being among the beneficiaries of his father's ruling, having been born of a marriage initially deemed morganatic.<ref name="petit">de Badts de Cugnac, Chantal. Coutant de Saisseval, Guy. ''Le Petit Gotha''. Nouvelle Imprimerie Laballery, Paris 2002, p. 37 (French) {{ISBN|2-9507974-3-1}}</ref>
In the former royal family of Saxony [[Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen]] adopted and designated as his heir his nephew [[Alexander Prinz von Sachsen|Alexander Afif]], thus bypassing his [[agnatic]] cousin's morganatic son, [[Rüdiger von Sachsen]], and his three sons.
After [[World War I]], the heads of both ruling and formerly reigning German dynasties initially continued the practice of rejecting dynastic titles and/or rights for descendants of "morganatic" unions, but gradually allowed them, sometimes retroactively, effectively de-morganatizing the wives and children. This was accommodated by [[Justus Perthes (publishing company)|Perthes']] ''[[Almanach de Gotha]]'' (which categorised German princely families by rank until it ceased publication after 1944) by inserting the offspring of such marriages in a third section of the almanac under entries denoted by a symbol (a dot within a circle) that "signifies some princely houses which, possessing no specific princely [[letters patent|patent]], have passed from the first part, A, or from the second part into the third part in virtue of special agreements".<ref name = "gotha">''[[Almanach de Gotha]]'' (Gotha: [[Justus Perthes]], 1944), pages 43, 363–364, 529. French</ref> The ''[[Fürst]]liche Häuser'' ("Princely Houses") series of the ''Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels'' ("Genealogical Manual of the Nobility") has followed this lead, likewise enrolling some issue of unapproved marriages in its third section, "III B", with a similar explanation: "Families in this section, although verified, received no specific [[letters patent|decree]], but have been included by special agreement in the 1st and 2nd sections".<ref name="ghda">''«Die in dieser Abteilung nachgewiesenen Familien besitzen kein besonderes Diplom, sondern sind nach besonderer Übereinkunft aus der 1. und 2. <!--Do not remove the dots. "1st" and "2nd" in German = "1." and "2." (with dot). Thank you. --> Abteilung übernommen worden.»'' Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels, Fürstliche Häuser XIV. C.A. Starke Verlag, 1991, p. 565. {{ISBN|3-7980-0700-4}}.</ref>
===Luxembourg===
When the [[Grand Duchy of Luxembourg]] found itself without a male heir at the beginning of the 20th century, the morganatic [[Count of Merenberg|counts von Merenberg]] proposed themselves as heirs, being the last legitimate descendants in the [[male line]] of the [[House of Nassau]]. [[Grand Duke William IV]], however, chose to confirm the law of succession stipulated in 1815 by the [[Congress of Vienna]] to allow a female descendant in the Nassau male line to become successor to the throne (his own daughter [[Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg|Marie-Adélaïde]]) instead.{{CN|date=June 2024}}
=== Russia ===
[[Paul I of Russia]] promulgated a strict new [[house law]] for Russia in 1797, eliminating the sovereign's right to designate the heir to the throne, but requiring that dynasts be born of authorized marriages.{{CN|date=June 2024}} In 1820 a new law also stipulated that only children of Romanovs born of marriages with persons of equal status, i.e., members of a "royal or sovereign family", could transmit succession rights and titles to descendants.{{CN|date=December 2024}} Alexander III forbade Romanov morganatic marriages altogether by issuance of ''[[ukase]]'' #5868 on 24 March 1889 amending article #63 of the Statute on the Imperial Family in the [[Pauline laws]]. By ''ukase'' #35731, dated 11 August 1911, Nicholas II amended the amendment, reducing application of this restriction from all members of the Imperial Family to grand dukes and grand duchesses only. This decree allowed marriages of the [[prince du sang|princes and princesses of the Blood Imperial]] with non-royal spouses, on the [[Pauline laws#Dynastic marriage|conditions]] that the emperor's consent be obtained, that the dynast renounce his or her personal succession rights, and that the Pauline laws restricting succession rights to those born of equal marriages continue in force.{{CN|date=June 2024}}
An early victim of the Pauline laws was [[Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich]], grandson of [[Catherine the Great]], and viceroy of Poland. On 20 March 1820 his marriage to Princess [[Juliane of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] was annulled to allow him to morganatically wed his longtime mistress, [[Joanna Grudzińska|Countess Joanna Grudna-Grudzińska]], in Warsaw on 24 May 1820, who was elevated to the title "Princess Łowicza" upon marriage, which produced no children.<ref name="enache">Enache, Nicolas. ''La Descendance de Pierre le Grand, Tsar de Russie''. Sedopols, Paris, 1983. pp.43, 127. French. {{ISBN|2-904177-01-9}}</ref>
[[File:Tsar Alexander II 1881.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Tsar Alexander II]]
[[File:Princess Catherine Dolgorukov.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Princess Catherine Dolgorukova]]
One emperor, [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]], married morganatically in 1880. Princess [[Ekaterina Mihailovna Dolgorukova]], Alexander's second bride, had previously been his long-term mistress and the mother of his three [[legitimised]] children, the [[Catherine Dolgorukov#Children|princes and princesses Yurievsky]].<ref name="willis">Willis, Daniel. The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain. Clearfield, Baltimore, 2002. pp. 114, 580, 601, 607, 717. {{ISBN|0-8063-5172-1}}.</ref>
Beginning a novel tradition, one of that couple's daughters, Princess Olga Aleksandrovna Yurievskaya (1873–1925), in 1895 married the child of an 1868 morganatic marriage in the [[House of Nassau]], [[Count of Merenberg|George, Count von Merenberg]] (1871–1965).<ref name="willis"/> His mother was a daughter of renowned author [[Alexander Pushkin]] but, despite being of noble birth, she could not in 1868 dynastically marry the [[Prince Nikolaus Wilhelm of Nassau|younger brother]] of a then-exiled [[Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg|Duke of Nassau]].<ref name="willis"/> The count filed a futile suit to establish that his morganatic status in Germany should not exclude him from succession to the [[Line of succession to the throne of Luxembourg|throne of Luxembourg]] after the last male of the [[House of Orange]], King [[William III of the Netherlands]], died in 1890 and it became apparent that the House of Nassau faced the imminent extinction of its male members, as well, upon the eventual death of [[Grand Duke William IV]].{{CN|date=June 2024}} Olga's brother, [[Prince George Alexandrovich Yuryevsky|Prince George Aleksandrovich Yurievsky]] (1872–1913), in 1900 wed Countess Alexandra von Zarnekau (1883–1957), daughter of the morganatic marriage of the Russo-German [[Duke Constantine Petrovich of Oldenburg]] with Agrafena [[Japaridze (noble family)|Djaparidize]].<ref name="willis"/> Merenberg's sister, [[Sophie of Merenberg|Sophia]] (1868–1927), likewise contracted a morganatic marriage in 1891, with [[Grand Duke Michael Mikhailovich of Russia]], whose cousin, [[Emperor Nicholas II]] banished them to England, unwittingly saving the couple from the maelstrom of the [[Russian Revolution]] which proved fatal to so many [[Romanovs]].<ref name="crawf">Crawford, Rosemary and Donald. "Michael and Natasha". Scribner, New York, 1997. pp. 111, 131, 147, 182, 204, 228, 389. {{ISBN|0-684-83430-8}}.</ref> She and her children were made ''counts de Torby'', her younger daughter, [[Nadejda Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven|Countess Nada]] (1896–1963) marrying, in 1916 [[Prince George of Battenberg]], future [[Marquess of Milford Haven]] and scion of the [[House of Battenberg]], a morganatic branch of the grandducal [[House of Hesse]] which had settled in England and inter-married with descendants of [[Queen Victoria]].<ref name="willis"/>
Less fortunate among the Romanovs was [[Grand Duke Paul Alexandrovich of Russia|Grand Duke Paul Aleksandrovich]], who went into exile in Paris to marry a commoner, [[Olga Valerianovna Paley|Olga Valerianovna Karnovich]] in 1902.<ref name="crawf"/> Paul returned to serve in the Russian army during the First World War, and Nicholas II rewarded his uncle's loyalty by elevating Olga and her children as Princess and Princes Paley in 1915.<ref name="crawf"/> Paul's patriotism, however, sealed his fate, and he died at the hands of Russia's revolutionaries in 1919. One of his daughters, [[Irina Paley|Princess Irene Pavlovna Paley]] (1903–1990), was married while in exile in 1923, to her cousin, [[Prince Feodor Alexandrovich of Russia|Prince Theodor Aleksandrovich of Russia]], (1898-1968).<ref name="crawf"/>
Nicholas II forbade his brother, [[Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia]], from marrying twice-divorced [[Russian nobility|noblewoman]] [[Princess Brassova|Natalya Sergeyevna Wulfert]] (''née'' Sheremetevskaya), but the couple eloped abroad in 1911.<ref name="crawf"/> The Tsar refused his brother's request to grant the bride or their son, [[George Mikhailovich, Count Brasov|George Mikhailovich]] (1910–1931) a title, but [[legitimation|legitimated]] George and incorporated him into the [[Russian nobility]] under the surname "Brassov" in 1915: nonetheless he and his mother used the [[comital]] title from 1915, only being granted a princely prefix in exile by [[Cyril Vladimirovich, Grand Duke of Russia]] in 1928.<ref name="enache"/><ref name="crawf"/> In the throes of the First World War, Nicholas II allowed his sister [[Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna of Russia]] to end her loveless marriage to her social equal, [[Duke Peter Alexandrovich of Oldenburg]], and quietly marry commoner Colonel [[Nikolai Alexandrovich Kulikovsky]].<ref name="crawf"/> Both Michael's and Olga's descendants from these marriages were excluded from the succession.
After the murder of Nicholas II and his children, the Imperial Family's morganatic marriages restricted the number of possible claimants. [[Grand Duke Cyril Vladimirovich]], Nicholas's cousin, proclaimed himself as Emperor in exile.<ref name="crawf"/> Controversy accompanied the marriage of his son [[Vladimir Cyrillovich, Grand Duke of Russia|Grand Duke Vladimir Cyrillovich]] to [[Leonida Georgievna, Grand Duchess of Russia|Princess Leonida Georgievna Bagration-Mukhransky]], a descendant of the deposed Royal House of Georgia.<ref name="massie">{{cite book | title=The Romanovs: The Final Chapter | url=https://archive.org/details/romanovsfinalcha00mass_0 | url-access=limited | publisher=Random House | author=Massie, Robert K. | year=1995 | ___location=New York | pages=[https://archive.org/details/romanovsfinalcha00mass_0/page/268 268]–270 | isbn=0-394-58048-6| author-link=Robert Massie }}</ref> After the annexation of Georgia in 1801, Leonida's family were deemed ordinary nobility in Imperial Russia rather than royalty, leading to claims that her 1948 marriage to Vladimir (who, however, also belonged to a deposed dynasty by then) was unequal and should be considered morganatic.<ref name="massie"/> As a result, some factions within Russia's monarchist movement did not support the couple's daughter, [[Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna]], as the rightful heir to the Romanov dynasty.<ref name="massie"/>
===Sweden===
The concept of morganatic marriages was never established under Swedish law. The [[1810 Act of Succession]] did, until late 20th century, prohibit princes of the royal house from entering unequal marriages with ''enskild mans dotter'' (daughter of a private man);i.e. excluding those not belonging to a reigning or mediatised royal house. Those princes that did so anyway lost all rights of succession to the throne themselves, and were no longer considered dynastic members of the royal house; their marriages were never considered morganatic but simply ''unequal''.
===Transkei===
Standards of social classification and marital rules resembling the traditions of [[dynasty#Dynasts|dynastic]] Europe can also be found in a number of sovereign nations in [[Africa]]. Here, a number of its peoples have legalized [[traditional authority]] as manifested in the recognized hereditary transmission of [[chieftaincy]] in historically relevant regions of the continent (e.g., the [[Asantehene]] of [[Ghana]]).
An example of the form that morganatic unions tend to take amongst African royalty can be found in the biography of [[Nelson Mandela]], the late leader of [[South Africa]]. Mandela, a [[nobleman]] by birth of the [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] Thembus that reside in the [[Transkei]] region of the Cape coast, was nevertheless unable to ascend the throne of the ''Kumkani'' (or king) of the entire Thembu tribe, even though he descended in the legitimate, male line from the holders of this title. Nearly two centuries ago, [[Ngubengcuka]] (d. 1832), who ruled as the ''Kumkani'' of the Thembu people, married and subsequently left a son named Mandela, who became Nelson's grandfather and the source of his surname. However, because Mandela was only the [[Inkosi]]'s child by a wife of the ''Ixhiba'' lineage, a so-called "Left-Hand House", the descendants of his [[cadet branch]] of the Thembu royal family remain ineligible to succeed to the Thembu throne,<ref name="mafela">{{cite book|url=http://epress.anu.edu.au/aborig_history/indigenous_biog/mobile_devices/ch08.html|title=The revelation of African culture in Long Walk to Freedom|last=Mafela|first=Munzhedzi James|date=October 2008|work=Indigenous Biography and Autobiography|publisher=[[Australian National University]]|access-date=18 July 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130724060728/http://epress.anu.edu.au/aborig_history/indigenous_biog/mobile_devices/ch08.html|archive-date=24 July 2013|url-status=dead|isbn=9781921536359}}</ref> which is itself one of the several traditional seats that are still officially recognized by South Africa's government. Instead, the Mandelas were given the [[chiefdom]] of [[Mvezo]] and made hereditary counsellors to the ''Kumkani'' (i.e., [[privy counsellor]]s) in deference to their royal ancestry. Following the loss of this chiefdom (which has since been restored to the family) in the [[Apartheid]] era, [[Mandela family|the Mandelas]] retained their positions as nobles of the Transkei. This status entailed, however, a degree of subjugation to the head of the dynasty, in particular in the matter of marital selection, which proved so onerous an issue to Nelson Mandela that it prompted the departure to [[Johannesburg]] that eventually led to his political career. Like the [[House of Battenberg]] in Europe, Mandela's family has since rehabilitated [[Royal intermarriage#Royal intermarriage outside of Europe|its dynastic status]] to some extent: Mandela was still in prison when his daughter [[Zenani Mandela-Dlamini|Zenani]] was married to [[House of Dlamini|Prince Thumbumuzi Dlamini]] in 1973, elder brother of both King [[Mswati III of Swaziland]] and Queen [[Mantfombi Dlamini|Mantfombi]], [[Great Wife]] of [[Goodwill Zwelithini]], King of the Zulus.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://main.wgbh.org/ton/programs/5069_01.html|title=Swaziland prince and princess attend Boston University|date=13 May 1987|publisher=WGBH Boston|access-date=27 October 2008}}</ref>
=== Travancore and Cochin ===
In the erstwhile [[princely state]] of [[Travancore]], in [[India]], the male members of the [[Travancore Royal Family]] were, under the existing matrilineal [[Marumakkathayam]] system of inheritance and family, permitted to contract marriages with women of the [[Nair]] [[caste]] only.<ref>Travancore State Manual Vol ii 1940 by TK Velu Pillai</ref> These were morganatic marriages called [[Sambandham]]s wherein the children gained their mother's caste and family name, due to [[Marumakkathayam]]. Although they could not inherit the throne, they did receive a title of [[nobility]], [[Thampi]] (son of the Maharajah) and Kochamma (daughter of the Maharajah). These were the members of the [[Ammaveedu]]s and their titles ensured a comfortable lifestyle and all other luxuries. The descendants of these Ammaveedu members were simply called Thampi and Thankachi and they didn't get any other distinguishing privileges.<ref>Travancore State Manual Vol ii 1940 by TK Velu Pillai and TSM Vol II 1906 by V Nagam Aiya</ref>
The Cochin Royal family also followed the system of [[Marumakkatayam]]. Traditionally the female members of the family married Namboodiri Brahmins while male members marry ladies of the Nair caste. These wives of the male members are not royalty or didn't receive any royal titles or power, per the matrilineal system but instead get the title of Nethyar Amma. Their position ceases when the Maharaja dies. The children born to Neytharammas will be known by their mother's caste and hold no key royal titles. Currently the family marries mostly within the Kerala Kshatriya class.<ref name=hindu>{{cite news|last=Staff Correspondent|title=Seeking royal roots|url=http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/03/stories/2003030300550200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101022024430/http://hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2003/03/03/stories/2003030300550200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2010|access-date=5 January 2012|newspaper=[[The Hindu]]|date=19 November 2014}}</ref>
=== United Kingdom ===
{{more citations needed section|date = April 2017}}
The concept of morganatic marriage has never clearly existed in any part of the United Kingdom, and historically the English crown descended through marriages with commoners as late as the 17th century. Only two of the [[Wives of Henry VIII|six marriages Henry VIII made]] to secure an heir were with royal brides, and [[Elizabeth Woodville]], queen of [[Edward IV of England]], was also a commoner.
Another link in the English succession involving marriage with a commoner was between [[John of Gaunt]] and [[Katherine Swynford]]. When they married after co-habiting for several years all children born previously were subsequently legitimated by Act of Parliament. [[Henry IV of England|King Henry IV]] later declared that they could not inherit the crown, but it is not clear that he had the right to do this. This marriage was important, as [[King Henry VII]] was descended from it, but Parliament still declared that he was king, so some issues remained unresolved.
The marriage of [[George IV]] as Prince of Wales to [[Maria Fitzherbert]] in 1785 is frequently referred to as morganatic: it was in fact doubly in breach of law, as a marriage to a Catholic and one not having been sanctioned by the king.
As in nearly all European monarchies extant in the 21st century, most approved marriages in the [[British royal family]] are with untitled commoners<ref name="willis2">Willis, Daniel A., ''The Descendants of King George I of Great Britain'', Clearfield Company, Baltimore, 2002, pp. 48–54 and ''passim''. {{ISBN|0-8063-5172-1}}.</ref> and have been for several generations. In 1923, the future [[George VI]] (then second in line to the throne as [[Duke of York]]), was the first future British monarch to marry a non-princess or prince since 1659 when the future [[James VII & II]] eloped with [[Anne Hyde]]. Wives of British peers are entitled to use the feminine form of their husbands' peerages under [[English common law]], while wives of royal princes share their husbands' styles by custom unless the Sovereign formally objects.<ref name="highness">[[Donald Somervell, Baron Somervell of Harrow|Somervell, Sir Donald]]. Memorandum, Attorney General to Home Secretary, 14 April 1937, [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]] file [[Home Office|HO]] 144/22945.</ref>
For example, [[Catherine Middleton]], a commoner, became the [[Duchess of Cambridge]] upon her marriage on 29 April 2011 to [[Prince William]], who had been created [[Duke of Cambridge]] that morning.<ref>{{cite magazine|title= Introducing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2011/04/29/introducing-the-duke-and-duchess-of-cambridge/?xid=rss-politics-huffpo | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=29 April 2011}}</ref> [[Camilla Parker Bowles]], second wife of [[Charles, Prince of Wales]] (as he was at the time), legally held the title "[[Princess of Wales]]" but at the time that the engagement was announced it was declared that she would be known by the title "[[Duchess of Cornwall]]" and, in Scotland, [[Duchess of Rothesay]] (derived from other titles her husband held as [[heir apparent]]) in deference, it has been reported, to public feelings about the title's previous holder, the Prince's first wife [[Lady Diana Spencer]]. It was simultaneously stated that at such time, if any, her husband acceded to the throne, she would be known as "[[Princess Consort]]" rather than "Queen", although as the king's wife she would legally be queen.<ref name = "noqueen">{{Cite web|url = http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/page5559.asp|title=TRH The Prince of Wales & The Duchess of Cornwall|access-date = 2009-01-11|work = The Royal Family|quote = After the wedding, Mrs. Parker Bowles became known as HRH The Duchess of Cornwall. If and when The Prince of Wales accedes to the throne, she will be known as HRH The Princess Consort.}}</ref><ref name="intended">{{Cite web|url=http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/theprinceofwales/biography/index.html|title=Biography|access-date=2009-01-11|publisher=[[BBC News]]|archive-date=2009-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090109054340/http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/theprinceofwales/biography/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="queenyes">{{Cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4369217.stm| title = Camilla 'will be Charles' queen'|access-date = 2009-01-11|work = [[BBC]] | date=2005-03-21 | ___location=London}}</ref> However, in her 2022 [[Accession day (United Kingdom)|Accession Day]] message, Queen Elizabeth II stated that it was her "sincere wish" for Camilla to be "known as Queen Consort",<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60274816|title=Queen wants Camilla to be known as Queen Consort|work=BBC|first=Sean|last=Coughlan|date=5 February 2022|accessdate=5 February 2022|archive-date=5 February 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220205221941/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60274816|url-status=live}}</ref> and, on Charles' accession, Camilla took this title.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bridge |first=London |date=2022-09-08 |title=The Queen Consort |url=https://www.royal.uk/queen-consort |access-date=2022-12-30 |website=The Royal Family |language=en}}</ref>
==== Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson ====
On 16 November 1936 [[Edward VIII]] informed Prime Minister [[Stanley Baldwin]] that he intended to marry the American divorcée [[Wallis Simpson]], proposing that he be allowed to do so morganatically and remain king.<ref name=duke>HRH The Duke of Windsor. ''A King's Story''. 1951. London: Cassell and Co., p. 332.</ref> Baldwin expressed his belief that Mrs. Simpson would be unacceptable to the British people as queen due to her status as a divorcee, which contradicted Church of England doctrine at the time,<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.churchofengland.org/media/37453/mcad1.doc|title=Marriage in Church After a Divorce|publisher=Church of England|access-date=9 March 2013|format=doc|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915022305/http://www.churchofengland.org/media/37453/mcad1.doc|archive-date=15 September 2012}}</ref> but agreed to take further soundings. The prospect of the marriage was rejected by the [[British Cabinet]].<ref name="Windsor">Bloch, Michael (1982). ''The Duke of Windsor's War''. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. {{ISBN|0-297-77947-8}}, p. 346</ref> The other [[Dominion]] governments were consulted<ref>Windsor, p. 354</ref> pursuant to the [[Statute of Westminster 1931]], which provided in part that "any alteration in the law touching the Succession to the Throne or the Royal Style and Titles shall hereafter require the assent as well of the Parliaments of all the Dominions as of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]."<ref>{{citation|title=Statute of Westminster 1931 c.4|url=http://www.statutelaw.gov.uk/content.aspx?activeTextDocId=1081723|publisher=The UK Statute Law Database|access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref><ref>[[Taylor, A.J.P.]], ''English History, 1914-1945'', Oxford University Press, 1965, p. 401.</ref> Baldwin suggested three options to the prime ministers of the five [[Dominion]]s of which Edward was also king: [[Canada]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Union of South Africa|South Africa]] and the [[Irish Free State]]. The options were:
# Edward and Mrs. Simpson marry and she become queen (a royal marriage);
# Edward and Mrs. Simpson marry, but she not become queen, instead receiving some [[Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom|courtesy title]] (a morganatic marriage); or
# [[Abdication]] for Edward and any potential heirs he might father, allowing him to make any marital decisions without further constitutional implications.
The second option had European precedents, including Edward's own maternal great-grandfather, [[Duke Alexander of Württemberg (1804–1885)|Duke Alexander of Württemberg]], but no unambiguous parallel in British constitutional history. [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]] ([[Prime Minister of Canada]]), [[Joseph Lyons]] ([[Prime Minister of Australia]]) and [[J. B. M. Hertzog]] ([[Prime Minister of South Africa]]) opposed options 1 and 2. [[Michael Joseph Savage]] ([[Prime Minister of New Zealand]]) rejected option 1 but thought that option 2 "might be possible ... if some solution along these lines were found to be practicable" but "would be guided by the decision of the Home government".<ref>Williams, p. 130</ref> Thus the majority of the Commonwealth's prime ministers agreed that there was "no alternative to course (3)".<ref>[[Éamon de Valera]] quoted in Bradford, p. 188</ref> On 24 November, Baldwin consulted the three leading opposition politicians in Britain: [[Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)|Leader of the Opposition]] [[Clement Attlee]], [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal]] leader [[Sir Archibald Sinclair]] and [[Winston Churchill]]. Sinclair and Attlee agreed that options 1 and 2 were unacceptable and Churchill pledged to support the government.<ref>Williams, p. 113</ref>
The letters and diaries of working-class people and ex-servicemen generally demonstrate support for the King, while those from the middle and upper classes tend to express indignation and distaste.<ref>See, for example, Williams, pp. 138–144</ref> ''[[The Times]]'', ''[[The Morning Post]]'', the ''[[Daily Herald (United Kingdom)|Daily Herald]]'', and newspapers owned by [[Lord Kemsley]], such as ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', opposed the marriage. On the other hand, the ''[[Daily Express|Express]]'' and ''[[Daily Mail|Mail]]'' newspapers, owned by [[Lord Beaverbrook]] and [[Harold Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Rothermere|Lord Rothermere]], respectively, appeared to support a morganatic marriage.<ref>Beaverbrook, p. 68; Broad, p. 188 and Ziegler, p. 308</ref> The King estimated that the newspapers in favour had a circulation of 12.5 million, and those against had 8.5 million.<ref>Ziegler, p. 308 and the Duke of Windsor, p. 373</ref>
Backed by Churchill and Beaverbrook, Edward proposed to broadcast a speech indicating his desire to remain on the throne or to be recalled to it if forced to abdicate, while marrying Mrs Simpson morganatically. In one section, Edward proposed to say:
{{Blockquote|Neither Mrs. Simpson nor I have ever sought to insist that she should be queen. All we desired was that our married happiness should carry with it a proper title and dignity for her, befitting my wife. Now that I have at last been able to take you into my confidence, I feel it is best to go away for a while, so that you may reflect calmly and quietly, but without undue delay, on what I have said.<ref>The Duke of Windsor, p. 361</ref>}}
Baldwin and the [[British Cabinet]] blocked the speech, saying that it would shock many people and would be a grave breach of constitutional principles.<ref>{{citation|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2707489.stm|first=Dominic|last=Casciani|publisher=BBC News|title=King's abdication appeal blocked|date=30 January 2003|access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref>
Ultimately, Edward decided to give up the throne for "the woman I love",<ref>{{citation|author=Edward VIII|title=Broadcast after his abdication, 11 December 1936|publisher=Official website of the British monarchy|url=http://www.royal.gov.uk/pdf/edwardviii.pdf |access-date=1 May 2010}}</ref> whereupon he and his descendants were deprived of all right to the Crown by Parliament's passage of [[His Majesty's Declaration of Abdication Act 1936]]. He was created [[Duke of Windsor]] on 8 March 1937 by his brother, the new [[George VI]]. He would marry Wallis Simpson in France on 3 June 1937, after her second divorce became final. In the meantime, however, [[letters patent]] dated 27 May 1937, which re-conferred upon the Duke of Windsor the "title, style, or attribute of [[Royal Highness]]", specifically stated that "his wife and descendants, if any, shall not hold said title or attribute". This decree was issued by the new king and unanimously supported by the Dominion governments.<ref>Diary of [[Neville Chamberlain]] quoted in Bradford, p. 243</ref> The king's authority to withhold from the lawful wife of a prince the attribute hitherto accorded to the wives of other modern British princes was addressed by the Crown's legal authorities: On 14 April 1937, [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]] Sir [[Donald Somervell]] submitted to [[Home Secretary]] Sir [[John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon|John Simon]] a memorandum summarising the views of [[Lord Advocate]] [[Thomas Cooper, 1st Baron Cooper of Culross|T. M. Cooper]], [[Parliamentary Counsel]] Sir [[Granville Ram]], and himself:
<blockquote>
#We incline to the view that on his abdication the Duke of Windsor could not have claimed the right to be described as a Royal Highness. In other words, no reasonable objection could have been taken if the King had decided that his exclusion from the lineal succession excluded him from the right to this title as conferred by the existing Letters Patent.
#The question however has to be considered on the basis of the fact that, for reasons which are readily understandable, he with the express approval of His Majesty enjoys this title and has been referred to as a Royal Highness on a formal occasion and in formal documents. In the light of precedent it seems clear that the wife of a Royal Highness enjoys the same title unless some appropriate express step can be and is taken to deprive her of it.
#We came to the conclusion that the wife could not claim this right on any legal basis. The right to use this style or title, in our view, is within the prerogative of His Majesty and he has the power to regulate it by Letters Patent generally or in particular circumstances.<ref>Attorney General to Home Secretary (14 April 1937) National Archives file HO 144/22945</ref>
</blockquote>
The new King's firm view, that the Duchess should not be given a royal title, was shared by Queen Mary and George's wife, [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother|Queen Elizabeth]].<ref>{{citation|url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/edward_duke.htm|title=Home Office memo on the Duke and Duchess's title|publisher=National Archives|access-date=2 May 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101231024432/http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/edward_duke.htm|archive-date=31 December 2010}}</ref> The Duchess bitterly resented the denial of the royal title and the refusal of the Duke's relatives to accept her as part of the family.<ref name="dnb">[[Ziegler, Philip]] (2004) [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/38277 "Windsor, (Bessie) Wallis, duchess of Windsor (1896–1986)"], ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], {{doi|10.1093/ref:odnb/38277}}, retrieved 2 May 2010 (subscription required)</ref><ref>See also, {{citation|editor-last=Bloch|editor-first=Michael |title=Wallis and Edward: Letters 1931–1937|publisher=Summit Books|year=1986|isbn=0-671-61209-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/wallisedwardlett00wind/page/231 231, 233]|url=https://archive.org/details/wallisedwardlett00wind/page/231}} cited in Bradford, p. 232</ref> In the early days of George VI's reign the Duke telephoned daily, importuning for money and urging that the Duchess be granted the style of Royal Highness, until the harassed King ordered that the calls not be put through.<ref>Ziegler, p. 349</ref> However, within the household of the Duke and Duchess, the style "Her Royal Highness" was used by those who were close to the couple.<ref>Higham, p. 232</ref>
==== Morganatic vs. invalid ====
The [[Royal Marriages Act 1772]] made it illegal for all persons born into the [[British royal family]] to marry without the permission of the sovereign, and any marriage contracted without the sovereign's consent was considered invalid. This led to several prominent cases of British princes who had gone through marriage ceremonies, and who [[cohabit]]ed with their partners as if married, but whose relationships were not legally recognised. As a result, their partners and children (which would be considered illegitimate) held no titles, and had no succession rights. This differs from morganatic marriages, which are considered legally valid.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}
===England/Scotland===
==== James II/VII and Anne Hyde ====
It has been suggested that [[William III of England|William, Prince of Orange]], expected to have a strong claim to the throne of [[England]] after the [[James II of England|Duke of York]] during the reign of [[Charles II of England|Charles II]].<ref>Van der zee and Van der zee, 1688: ''A Revolution in the family''. Viking, Great Britain: 1988. p 52</ref> In fact, the Duke's two daughters from his first marriage, [[Queen Mary II of England|Princess Mary]] and [[Queen Anne of Great Britain|Princess Anne]], were considered to have the stronger claim by the English establishment. William's expectation was based on the continental practice of morganatic marriage, since the mother of both princesses, [[Anne Hyde]], was a commoner and a lady-in-waiting to William's mother, [[Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange|Princess Mary]]. It was through his mother, a sister of Charles II and the Duke of York, that William claimed the throne, because, to his mind, the son of a princess had a stronger claim than the daughter of a commoner. It was to shore up his own claim to the throne that he agreed to marry his first cousin, Princess Mary. When James II fled at the [[Glorious Revolution]], William refused to accept the title of [[king consort]] (which [[Philip II of Spain]] had been granted under [[Queen Mary I]] in the 1550s) and insisted on being named King in his own right. The compromise solution involved naming both to the crown as had rarely happened in the past (see for example [[Henry II of England|King Henry II]] and his son [[Young King Henry]], who ruled England simultaneously).
=== Elsewhere ===
Variations of morganatic marriage were also practised by non-European dynasties, such as the [[Royal Family of Thailand]], the polygamous [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] as to their non-principal wives, and other families of Africa and Asia.
== Examples ==
=== Men ===
* [[Genghis Khan]] followed the contemporary tradition by taking several morganatic wives in addition to his principal wife, whose [[ultimogeniture|property passed to their youngest son]], also following tradition.
* [[Ludwig Wilhelm, Duke in Bavaria]] and actress [[Henriette Mendel]]. She was created Baroness von Wallersee, and their daughter, [[Marie Louise, Countess Larisch von Moennich]], was a confidante of her aunt Empress [[Elisabeth of Bavaria|Elisabeth ("Sissi") of Austria]].
* Archduke [[Ferdinand II of Austria]], ruler of the [[Tyrol (state)|Tirol]], first married [[Philippine Welser]], a [[bourgeois]]e of a wealthy family in 1557. Their children were given the title Margrave von Burgau, the issue of Ferdinand's second (and equal) marriage being of archducal rank and preferred for purposes of inheritance.
* [[Victor Emmanuel II of Italy]] in 1869 married morganatically his principal mistress [[Rosa Teresa Vercellana Guerrieri]]. Popularly known in [[Piedmontese]] as "Bela Rosin" (Little Rosa the Beautiful), she was born a commoner but made Countess di Mirafiori e Fontanafredda in 1858.
* [[Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine]] in 1851 married morganatically [[Countess Julia von Hauke]]. Instead of being part of the [[House of Hesse-Darmstadt]] to which their father belonged, their [[Patrilineality|patrilinear descendants]] were created [[Battenberg family|Princes of Battenberg]], whose branch living in the [[United Kingdom]] later became [[House of Mountbatten]].
* Late in his life, the widowed ex-king [[Fernando II of Portugal]] married the opera singer [[Elise Hensler]], who was created Countess von Edla.
* In 1917, the grandson of [[Fernando II of Portugal]], [[Afonso, Duke of Porto]], the last [[Prince Royal of Portugal]], married the twice-divorced American socialite [[Nevada Stoody Hayes]].
* In 1929, [[Alfonso de Borbón y Borbón]], a [[Spain|Spanish]] prince, married Julia Méndez y Morales, thereby losing all claims to the Spanish throne.
* A list of [[morganatic branches of the Russian Imperial Family]]
* The 1900 marriage of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]], whose subsequent assassination triggered World War I, to [[Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg|Countess Sophie Chotek von Wognin]] was morganatic at the insistence of the Austrian Emperor [[Franz Joseph I]].<ref>{{cite book|first1=Max|last1=Hastings|author-link1=Max Hastings|title=Catastrophe: Europe Goes to War 1914|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mu2-BrJnZjUC|year=2013|publisher=HarperCollins Publishers|isbn=978-0-00-751975-0|page=xxvii}}</ref>
* Danish astronomer and nobleman [[Tycho Brahe]] married Kirsten Jørgensdatter morganatically in 1572. He was allowed to do so because he was close friends with [[Frederick II of Denmark|King Frederick II]]. The king was sympathetic, as he was unable to marry his love due to class differences.{{sfn|Thoren|Christianson|1990|p=45}}
=== Women ===
* [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma]] (by birth an [[archduchess]] of the Imperial [[House of Habsburg]], and by her first marriage a French empress) married morganatically twice after the death of her husband, [[Emperor of the French#Napoleon I|the emperor]] Napoleon I. Her second husband was [[Count Adam Albert von Neipperg]]. After his death, she married [[Count]] [[Charles-René de Bombelles]], her chamberlain, in 1834.
* Queen [[Maria Christina of Bourbon-Two Sicilies]], regent of Spain after her husband's ([[Ferdinand VII]]) death while their daughter, [[Isabella II]], was a minor. She married [[Agustín Fernando Muñoz y Sánchez, 1st Duke of Riánsares]], who was one of her guards in a secret marriage.
* Princess [[Stéphanie of Belgium]], the widow of [[Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria]], married [[:File:Lónyay_Elemér.jpg|Count Elemér Lónyay de Nagy-Lónya et Vásáros-Namény]] after the death of her first husband. In 1917, Emperor [[Charles I of Austria]] conferred upon [[:File:Lonyay_Stamm-Wappen.jpg|Lónyay]] a [[Dynasty#Dynasts|non-dynastic]] title of Prince (''[[Fürst]]'').
== See also ==
* [[Agnatic seniority]]
* [[Clandestinity (canon law)]]
* ''[[Lex Canuleia]]''
* [[List of royal marriages to commoners]]
===Unequal marriage===
*[[Concubinage]]
*[[Courtesan]]
*[[Gold digger]]
*[[Hypergamy]]
*[[Inter-caste marriage]]
*[[Marriage 'à la façon du pays'|Marriage ''à la façon du pays'']]
*[[Misyar marriage|''Misyar'' marriage]]
*''[[Plaçage]]''
*[[Signare]]
*[[Sugar baby]]
*[[War bride]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |last= Crawford |first= Donald |title= Michael and Natasha |publisher= Scribner |date= 1997 |isbn= 0-684-83430-8 |url= https://archive.org/details/michaelnatashali00craw }}
*{{Cite book |last1=Thoren |first1=Victor E. |last2=Christianson |first2=John Robert |title=The Lord of Uraniborg: A Biography of Tycho Brahe |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1990 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC |isbn=978-0-521-35158-4 }}<!-- 523 pages -->
== External links ==
{{Wikisource1911Enc|Morganatic Marriage}}
{{Types of marriages|state=autocollapse}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morganatic Marriage}}
[[Category:Morganatic marriage| ]]
[[Category:Monarchy]]
[[Category:Social divisions]]
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