Royal Marriages: Biggest Age Difference

[HMTLove23]

what would the biggest age diffrence in royal history?

I know of Willem and emma of the netherlands--40-some years

but what are some others?

 

[TLLK]

They would have been my first choice.

 

[Marengo]

King Willem III and Queen Emma had a difference of 41 years. The kings brother, Prince Hendrik of the Netherlands was also much older than his second wife, Princess Marie of Prussia (sister of the Duchess of Connaught), the prince was 35 years older than his wife.

King William IV of Great-Britain was 37 years older than his wife, Queen Adelaide.

 

[Jason R Maier esq]

another big age difference was Prince Johannes von Thurn und Taxis being 34 years older that Princess Gloria.

 

[Biri]

King Wladyslaw Jagiello of Poland was 53 years older than his last wife, mother of his two sons....Jesus!!!

 

[Dierna23]

Not the biggest difference, but - Count Lennart Bernadotte of Wisborg was 35 years older than his wife Sonja.

 

[EmpressRouge]

Royal related: Count Athenasius Walewski was 55 years older than his wife, Countess Marie Waleswka, Napoleon's Polish mistress and mother of an illegitimate son.

 

[magnik]

Edwar I of England 1239 - Marguerite of France 1279 = c. 40 years
Louise XII of France1462 - Mary Tudor 1496 = 34
Henry VIII 1491 - Catherine Howard 1521 = 30
Henry VIII - Anne of Cleves 1515 = 24
Joh of England 1166 - Isabelle of Angouleme 1188 = 22
Richard II 1367 - Isabella of Valoi 1389 = 22
Napoleon I 1769 - Marie Louise 1791 = 22
Henri IV 15 of France53 - Maria de Medici 1775 = 22
Philp II of Spain 1527 - Anna of Austria 1549 = 22
Henry VIII - Catherine Parr 1512 = 21
Louis XI 1423 - Charlotte de Savoie 1443 = 20
Napoleon II 1808 - Eugenie 1826 = 18
Philip II 1527 - Elisabeth of Valois 1544 = 17
Henry VIII - Jane Seymour 1508 = 17
Henry III 1207 - Eleanor of Provence 1223 = 16
Henry V 386 - Vatherine of Valois 1401 = 15
Henry VIII - Catherine of Aragon 1485 = 14
Eleanor c.1122 - Henry II 1133 = 11
Mary I Tudor 1516 - Philip II of Spain 1527 = 11

 

[Nathalie Cox]

Wow, there are so many royals with big age differences.
I only knew about Prince Charles and Princess Diana, 13.

 

[magnik]

The same Philippe of Belgium and Mathilde = 13.

Few more:
Kazimierz III of Poland 1310 - #2 Adelaide of Hesse 1324 = 14
Kazimierz III - #3 Krystyna Rokiczanka c.1330 = c. 20
Kazimierz III - #4 Jadwiga of Żagań betweeb 1340-1350 = about 30-40
Bolesław I Chrobry first King of Poland 967 - #4 Oda of Meidden c.996 = c. 19

 

[Next Star]

The late King Hussein of Jordan and Queen Noor of Jordan he was 16 years her sr.

 

[ChantalC]

Princess Caroline of Monaco's first husband Philippe Junot was 17 years older than her.

 

[EmpressRouge]

The Duke of Braganza, Dom Duarte Pio, is 21 years older than his wife, Dona Isabel.

 

[Opal]

King Wladyslaw Jagiello of Poland was 53 years older than his last wife, mother of his two sons....Jesus!!!

OMG! And if a woman is only a few years older than a man everyone has a cow!

 

[magnik]

OMG! And if a woman is only a few years older than a man everyone has a cow!

Yep.
Why older woman can't be with youger man I even don't mind marry?
He usually is called kept man. But when older guy is with younger girl or woman than she is called you know why...

I know that this thread is about royalty but what about aristocracy/ nobles?

 

[Bones]

I don't know if it's *always* that bad. My grandparents were 21 & 14 when they married and everyone used to tease my grandfather about having "robbed the cradle". What I don't understand is why women seem to care so much about this issue. If it's that big a problem, stop marrying older men! I don't see anything at all unusual about it in royal history as the primary duty of the royal couple was to produce heirs, everyone knew that after a certain age a woman's ability to have children dropped dramatically and there was a high infant mortality rate and a relatively short lifespan compared to today, so I can see how in their time and place it made sense to marry as young as possible. Queen Isabella (the "She Wolf of France" who married King Edward II of England was only 12 at the time of her marriage and when King James II of Britain married Princess Mary of Modena he was 40 and she was 15.

 

[Leslie2006]

King William III of the Netherlands (1817) and Emma of Waldeck & Pyrmont (1858) = 41 years
Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saafield (1786) and Charles of Leinigen (1763) = 23 years
Victoire of Saxe-Coburg-Saafield (1786) and Edward, Duke of Kent (1767) = 19 years
Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (1846) and Christian of Schleswig-Holstien (1831) = 15 years
Mary, Princess Royal (1897) and Henry Lascelles (1882) = 15 years
King Frederick VIII of Denmark (1899) and Ingrid of Sweden (1910) = 11 years
Victoria, Princess Royal (1840) and Frederick, Crown Prince of Prussia (1831) = 9 years
Anne, Princess Royal (1950) and Timothy Laurence (1955) = 5 years
Prince Joachim of Denmark (1969) and Alexandra Manley (1964) = 5 years

 

[magnik]

Japan
Morihiro Higashikuni (formerly HIH Prince, 1916) - Shigeko Higashikuni (daughter of Emperor Hirohito, 1925) - 9 years
Toshimichi Takatsukasa (1923) - Kazuko Takatsukasa (formerly Princess Taka, 1929) - 6 years
Yasuhito, Prince Chichibu (1902) - Princess Chichibu (1909) - 7 years
Nabuhito Prince Takamatsu (1905) - Princess (Kikuko) Takamastsu (1911) - 6 years
Takahito, Prince Mikasa (1915) - Yuriko, Princess Mikasa (1923) - 8 years
Prince Tomohito of Mikasa (1946) - Nabuko, Princess Tomohito of Mikasa (1955) - 9 years
Emperor Meiji (1852) - Empress Shoken Haruko (Ichijo Masaka, 1849) - 3 years
Emperor Meiji (1852) - Lady Sachiko Motosachi (1867) one of his official lady in waiting - 15 years
Princess Masako (1888) - Prince Takdesa Tsunehisa (1882) - 6 years
Prince Tsuneyoshi Takeda (1909) - Sanjo Mitsuko (1915) - 6 years
Princess Toshiko (1896) - Prince Higashikuni Naruhiko (1887) - 9 years
Emperor Kokaku (1771) - Empress Yoshiko (1779) - 8 years
Taira no Tokuko (1155) - Emperor Takakura (1161) - 6 years

 

[Leslie2006]

King Wladyslaw Jagiello of Poland was 53 years older than his last wife, mother of his two sons....Jesus!!!

Yyyuck! lol Where did you find that info?

 

[magnik]

Yyyuck! lol Where did you find that info?

The new researchs say that he was youger and born around 1362.
For many years historians belived that Władysław was born around 1351/52
or 1355 or even 1348. So all depend of the school.
According to the new research Władysław Jagiełło was born circa 1362:
1. wife King/Queen Jadwiga circa 1373/74 - around 11-12 years
2. wife Annaof Cilli circa 1380/81 - around 18-19 years
3. wife Elisabeth Granowska of Pilica circa 1372 - around 20 years
4. wife Sophia of Halshany circa 1405 - around 43 years.

But if we take that he was born on 1351 we have
1. - circa 22 years; 2. - circa 28 yrs; 3. - circa 20 yrs; 4. - circa 53 yrs.

Władysław's father Olgierd or Algirdas was born circa 1296 and had 23 children with two wives.
Between Olgierd and his secnd wife Uliana who was probably born around 1325 were circa 29 years.

 

[magnik]

China
Li Shuxian (1925) - Puyi (1906) - 19 years

- Xianfeng Emperor (1831)
2. wife Empress Dowager Ci'an (1837) - 6 years
3. Empress Dowager Cixi (1835) - only 4 years
4. Consort Li (1837) - 6 years
5. Imperial Noble Consort Duan Ge (1844) - 13 years
6. Imperial Consort Mei (1837) - 6 years

- Daoguang Emperor (1782)
3. Empress Xiao Quan Cheng (Niuhuru, 1808) - 26 years
4. Empress Xiao Jing Chen (1812) - 30 years

- Jiaqing Emperor (1760)
2. Empress Xiao He Rui (1776) - 16 years
3. Imp. Nob. Cons. Gong Shun (1787) - 27 years

- Qianlong Emperor (1711)
2. Empress Ulanara , Step Empress (1718) - 7 years
3. Empress Xiao Yi Chun (1727) - 16 years
7. Imp. Nob. Con. Qing Gong (1724) - 13 years
9. Noble Consort Ying (1731) - 20 years
14. Consort Dun (1746) - 36 years
15. Consort Shu (1728) - 17 years
17. Worthy Lady Shun or Imperial Concubine or Imperial Consort (1748) - 37 years

Yongzheng Emperor (1678) - 2. Empress Xiao Sheng Xian (1692) - 14 years

- Kangxi Emperor (1654)
4. Empress Gong Ren (1660) - 6 years
5. Imp. Nob. Cons. Yi Hui (1668) - 14 years
6. Imp. Nob. Cons. Dun Chi (1683) - 19 years
12. Consort hun Yi Mi (1668) - 14 years
17. Consort Ding (1661) - 7 years

-Emperor Huang Taiji (1592)
1. Duan Wen (1600) - 8 years
2. Xiaozhuang (1613) - 21 years
3. Chen (1609) - 15 years

Nurhaci (1558)
1. Empress Xiao Ci (1575) - 17 years
4. Lady Abahai (1590) - 32 years

 

[Next Star]

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco he is 20 years older than her.

 

[Meraude]

Sweden:
Gustav Vasa, age 56, married his third wife Katarina Stenbock, age 16, in 1551 - age difference 40 years.
Erik XVI, age 34, married Karin Månsdotter, age 17, in 1567 - age difference 17 years.
Johan III, age 48, married his second wife Gunilla Johansdotter Bielke af Åkerö, age 17, in 1585 -age difference 31 years.
Sigismund Wasa of Sweden and Poland, age 39, married his second wife Constantina of Steiermark, age 17, in 1605 - age difference 22 years.
Karl IX, age 42, married his second wife Kristina of Holstein-Gottorp, age 19, in 1592 - age differene 23 years.

 

[elladora]

And between who is the biggest age difference at the current time? So any royal marriages who are at the moment intact?

 

[kathia_sophia]

And between who is the biggest age difference at the current time? So any royal marriages who are at the moment intact?

The current ones i remenber of as the biggest diference in age.

Sheikh Mohammed (b.1949) and Princess Haya (b.1974) of Dubai - 25 years
Duke D.Duarte Pio (b.1945) and Duchess Isabel (b.1966) of Braganza and Portugal - 21 years
Prince Albert (b.1958) and Princess Charlene (b.1978) of Monaco - 20 years
Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn (b.1952) and Princess Srirasmi (b.1971) of Thailand - 19 years
King Mohammed VI (b.1963) and Princess Lalla Salma (b.1978) of Morocco - 15 years
Prince Phillippe (b.1960) and Princess Mathilde (b.1973) of Belgium - 13 years
Crown Prince Billah (b.1974) and Princess Sarah (b.1987) of Brunei - 13 years
Prince Laurent (b.1963) and Princess Clarie (b.1974) of Belgium - 11 years
King Jigme Khesar (b.1980) and Queen Jetsun Pema (b.1990) of Bhutan - 10 years

and last but not least, the Duchess of Alba married Alfonso Díez Carabantes - 24 years (and yes, its her the oldest one)

 

[theresa_225]

Charles Theodore, Elector of Bavaria was 56 years older than Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este.

 

[imojeen]

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Princess Charlene of Monaco he is 20 years older than her.

Albert needs a wife who can give birth a heir that's why this age difference is Ok.

 

[Lumutqueen]

He doesn't "need" a wife of that age so she can specifically give birth to an heir. Don't think he screened the classifieds to find the woman with the perfect age.

 

[imojeen]

Giving birth after 40 is more dangeous and risky. When you think that Charlene's age is OK.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Charles II, Holy Roman Emperor (875-877) married Richilde of Provence. Charles was 22 years older than Richilde.
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