Iluvbertie
Imperial Majesty
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2004
- Messages
- 14,464
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- Bathurst
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- Australia
I don't think that marrying commoners would be the death sentence for the British royals. Perhaps somewhere on the continent it is looked down upon, but there has never really been much of a demand for royal-only brides in the UK. The closest thing was the importation of a German-style monarchy under the early Hanoverians (and with all their affairs and carrying on, I doubt there was too much respect for married life beyond Queens Caroline and Charlotte, who didn't rank too highly by birth, themselves). English monarchs have most often married members of the British nobility (who, unless peeresses in their own right, are commoners). So a Kate or Chelsea wouldn't exactly signal the end of monarchy in Britain.
I have been doing some research and thought you might be interested to know that before Charles married Diana the last acknowledged either heir apparent or monarch who actually married a non-royal personage was Henry VII.
Going in reverse order, and only dealing with the heir apparent and/or monarch at the time of their marriage these are the marriages:
Edward VII married Princess Alexandra of Denmark
Queen Victoria married Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
George IV married Princess Caroline of Brunswick
George III married Princess Charlotte of Mecklingburg-Strelitz
Charles II married Princess Catherine of Braganza
Charles I married Princess Henrietta of France
Mary I married Philip II of Spain
Henry VIII married Princess Katherine of Aragon
Henry VII married Elizabeth Woodville.
So since the late 1400s until the late 1900s the monarch or heir apparent who married did so to someone of royal birth.
Isn't it amazing though how many of the monarchs didn't marry when they were either the monarch or heir apparent but even then most of them conducted royal marriages.
Edward VI - didn't marry
Elizabeth I - didn't marry
James I and VI - Princess Anne of Denmark
Mary II - married William of Orange and shared the throne with her
Anne - married Prince George of Denmark
George I - married Doreathea of Celle (daughter of a Duke born an HH)
George II - married Princess Caroline of Brandenburg-Ansbach
William IV - married Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meinengen
George V - married Princess Mary of Teck (was 2nd in line at the time and therefore not heir apparent)
That list leaves James II and George VI as the only monarchs who married non-royal spouses since Henry VIII. James IIs first wife was Anne Hyde but his second was Princess Mary of Modena and thus a royal wife. George VI's spouse was the redoubtable Elizabeth Bowes-Lyons.
To say that they British royals haven't been as insisting on royal spouses doesn't hold up under scrutiny. Since Henry VII married Elizabeth of York there have been 22 monarchs - 2 never married, 2 married more than once and even then of those 8 wives 3 were royal, thus excluding Henry VIII's multiple wives only 2 spouses since the late 1400s have been non-royal.