True Love Marriages

[Denville]

I highly doubt that the British RF would want to push dynastic marriages in the early 21st C. So I'm sure that that's just gossip mag nonsense.
And IMO a foreign princess would nto be popular in England, they would prefer to see their royals marry English women for at least affection and a good relationship.
Why would WIll marrying a woman he harldy knew from abroad be a good thing?
He and Kate seem a good match. they have known each other a long time.. they are rather similar in being dull and not very active minded.. they have had a long time to work out if they can make a marriage work.. and clearly she gets on OK with the rest of the RF.

 

[Mbruno]

I highly doubt that the British RF would want to push dynastic marriages in the early 21st C. So I'm sure that that's just gossip mag nonsense.
And IMO a foreign princess would nto be popular in England, they would prefer to see their royals marry English women for at least affection and a good relationship.
Why would WIll marrying a woman he harldy knew from abroad be a good thing?
He and Kate seem a good match. they have known each other a long time.. they are rather similar in being dull and not very active minded.. they have had a long time to work out if they can make a marriage work.. and clearly she gets on OK with the rest of the RF.

Well, I am not British so I couldn't tell, but, before George VI, who was not supposed to become king anyway, British monarchs routinely married foreign princesses (well, maybe before George V actually, as Mary of Teck could be counted as British despite her German parents). In any case, many of those foreign queens were very popular in the UK like Queen Alexandra for example and I don't really see why that wouldn't be the case if Willam had married someone from overseas. In other countries, many of commoner wives of monarchs or crown princes are foreign born anyway, like Maxima, Mary or Maria Teresa, and, in Belgium, Mathilde is the first Belgian-born queen ever. BTW, Prince Philip himself was born in Greece and was foreign royalty.

I think the point is not so much a question of what the British public would prefer or not, but rather the fact that William didn't have much contact, I think, with foreign royalty or nobility. I know that, as a child, he and his parents used to visit the Spanish RF, but that is pretty much it. His social circle was mostly upper-class British nobility, landed gentry, or wealthy upper-middle-class, so it was logical that he would choose a wife from one of those social groups.

 

[Denville]

that was a long time ago Mbruno. Some foreign princess brides became popular- and others didnt.
But really, there wasn't any choice back in 18th or 19th Century royal life. A royal was expected to marry another royal so they had to marry foreign princesses. However since WWI which made Germans very unpopular, George V agreed that rather than go for other royals, who would inevitably be foreign, his children could marry into the British aristocracy. he himself wasn't fond of foreigners or "abroad".. he was very British..
He is said to have said "Abroad is awful, I know, I've been there."
then there was WWII, and the habit of British royals marrying within the country and taking upper class British wives - for love - was firmly established. I dont beleive that now, a Swedish or Dutch or whatever princess woudl be popular.
People expected Will to marry an Enlgish girl of the upper or wealthy middle class, and ideally (after his parents' awful marriage) a woman he loved and had had time to get to know well.
I think it is possible that if a foreign princess like a Swedish one say had come to the UK to go to University, and met WIlliam there and they had developed a relationship (and some foreign royals have gone to British universities), she might be then liked because she did have the glamor of a title but was alos seen as having spent time in Britain and she and Will would have fallen in love.

Even So I can remember comments from way back, about Charles' possible bride, from the public saying "I'd rather he didnt marry a a foreigner, what's wrong with a nice English rose?"

Nowadays though I think that the continental royals still mix with each other, and intermarry, at times...but the British Royals remain on their island and dont really mingle with the foreign royals beyond a duty minimum. So yes it is not that likely that Wiliam would meet and marry one of the Continental princesses as they dont mix.

As for Philip, he was Greek by birth (though German by descent) but had been educated in England, joined the British navy and was to all intents and purposes a Brit.. even so there was the embarrassment of his sisters all marrying Germans, which had to be sort of hidden under the carpet.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Happy Guillaume, Happy Stéphanie!! Love is Fine!!!
Prince Guillaume Of Luxembourg and Countess Stephanie de Lannoy... News Photo | Getty Images

 

[4Pam]

^^^ I agree!! Guillaume and Stephanie are a great couple!

 

[princesslily]

^^^ I agree!! Guillaume and Stephanie are a great couple!

Yes I completely agree!

 

[Mirabel]

More likely they are trying to look like a devoted united couple because there has been a scandalous revelation..

That's what I think too!

I read the Warhol diaries, and really the king comes across as a bit sleazy- at least in his younger days.

Now that he is older, I suppose the Queen has less to put up with, so it is easier for her to play devoted.

 

[Lady Nimue]

I highly doubt that the British RF would want to push dynastic marriages in the early 21st C. So I'm sure that that's just gossip mag nonsense.

The mere thought of watching Madeleine in a marriage not driven by love, but compulsion, is appalling to me. Thank heaven such things are not done anymore.

And IMO a foreign princess would nto be popular in England, they would prefer to see their royals marry English women for at least affection and a good relationship.

That's how I see it, too. Especially given that the BRF seems to be the English Family writ large. Maybe this comes from out of Victorian times? It seems that the English 'soul' lives through the royal family in many ways for many people and so it's important to see it's 'Englishness'.

Why would WIll marrying a woman he harldy knew from abroad be a good thing?
He and Kate seem a good match. they have known each other a long time.. they are rather similar in being dull and not very active minded.. they have had a long time to work out if they can make a marriage work.. and clearly she gets on OK with the rest of the RF.

Plus Kate was raised upper class, or is it upper middle class? She does understand English social manners. She 'fits'. She totally inhabits her niche. Happily so, looks like. William really did 'luck out'. Particularly with Kate's extended family, too, imo.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

I'm sorry for saying this:it's true that Pr.Rainier and Grace Kelly were not truly in love with each other.Has anyone else heard it?

Yes, that's what I've heard too. I doubt that it was a serious love in the beginning. I think Prince Rainier was infatuated with Grace Kelly: the beautiful glamorous young Hollywood star. He wanted her for himself as a shiny possession. Grace accepted his proposal because she felt it was the thing to do, partly in order to please her parents, and especially as a way of seeking her father's approval.

After marrying, Grace discovered that Rainier was moody and melancholy, as well as demanding and autocratic. Grace became bored and she missed her acting career. When she began to receive offers to return to acting in some capacity, Prince Rainier refused to allow it. Grace bit her tongue and tried to find charitable and arts-related causes to support and sponsor.

Sadly, in later life, when they were beginning to reconcile their differences and ignite a loving bond, Grace died in the car accident.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

So was Diana a commoner. Fergie's family had no title but she's related to various titled people.. She's landed gentry...

Why do you think Diana is considered 'a commoner' when she's descended from the Spencers (who were at one time royals)? EDIT: okay correction, Diana is related illegitimately to the House of Stuart (via Charles II & his mistress Barbara Villiers). Diana's father was an Earl and her title/name was Lady Diana Spencer. She was part of the nobility or aristocracy, which is just below royalty. Diana's family is more British than the British royal family (whose descent is largely German).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spencer_family
"The Spencer family is one of Britain's preeminent aristocratic families..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_Kingdom

 

[Curryong]

I think, technically, that everyone who isn't born into the BRF is considered a commoner. I agree that the Spencers are an old and very prominent aristocratic family but they weren't once Kings. More Northamptonshire sheep farmers! Like most quite old aristo families they have royal blood in the family from Charles II (who sired quite a lot of illegitimate children) and on the distaff side I believe James II, but that blood came from advantageous marriages as the Spencers went up in the world and made their mark in national life.

 

[MaiaMia_53]

Read the history of the Spencer family that I linked above. Winston Churchill is a related member of the Spencer clan as well.

Also @Denville's reference to Fergie being from 'landed gentry.' So what? So is Camilla from the 'landed gentry' class, which is below the aristocracy/nobility.

And yes, the Spencers are aristocrats who are related to royalty via illegitimate ancestors:
"Today's Spencers are direct descendants, albeit illegitimate, of the House of Stuart, with the family boasting at least five lines of direct descent from the Stuarts; and from them, the Spencers can trace their ancestry to other royal houses such as the Bourbons, the Medicis, the Wittelsbachs, the Hanovers, the Sforzas, the Habsburgs, and the Houses of Howard and Boleyn through Mary Boleyn, Mistress of Henry VIII of England."

Also the term 'commoner' in the U.K. refers to "a person who is not born into a position of high social rank." That absolutely does not describe Diana or her family! She was not born of royalty, but she was a member of the aristocracy/nobility. The ancestors who began as sheep farmers is not recent. It's very far back. Still, there's nothing wrong with sheep farmers, but Diana did not grow up the daughter of a sheep farmer! Another famous ancestor of Diana's was Lady Georgiana Spencer who married the Duke of Devonshire (another famous British aristocratic family).

Interestingly the Spencers were also related to George Washington's family.

 

[Curryong]

It's a little more complex than that, though of course only in the technical sense. Both Lady Elizabeth Bowes Lyon and Diana were commoners before they married as they weren't peers just held courtesy titles.

Is it possible for a royal to be a commoner? – Royal Central

I meant by my comment that the direct Spencer line did not, at the beginning, contain Kings or Queens. In early Tudor times they were simple Northamptonshire farmers, sheep farmers. Of course, as they became more prosperous and more grand they did aquire ancestors who had royal blood via brides from the gentry and aristocracy who MARRIED into the Spencer line. The Spencers didn't have it inherently, from the family's earliest beginnings. And the Royal blood was through illegitimacy though the progeny certainly had all the lineage you mentioned.

 

[Jacknch]

Let's get back on topic please - the thread is about true love marriages and not a debate on who is or is not a "commoner".

 

[Biri]

Definitely all morganatic marriages were of true love.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark
Prince Felix and Princess Claire of Luxembourg

 

[CyrilVladisla]

The Way Prince William looks at Catherine

 

[chuck34]

el

I don't want to say too much but I don't think it will be the same as it was under Elizabeth's reign

 

[Denville]

I don't want to say too much but I don't think it will be the same as it was under Elizabeth's reign

what wont be the same? Royal couples now marry for love. It may not last or work out, but they are not now likely to be pressured into a marriage wtih someone who is socially suitable.

 

[Tatiana Maria]

I doubt if anyone in the royal community wants them [arranged marriages] back,

But again, arranged marriages have never disappeared for royals or non-royals (in many societies they continue to be the norm), so "back" is not quite the right term. And there is no single royal community, but diverse royal communities in different cultures.

Are you suggesting that every royal who is currently in an arranged marriage is unhappy with their marriage?

 

[SirGyamfi1]

what wont be the same? Royal couples now marry for love. It may not last or work out, but they are not now likely to be pressured into a marriage wtih someone who is socially suitable.

Also the concept of “love” is fairly recent, todays royals just have a wider access to different options of spouses than in previous centuries and aren’t restricted.

 

[SirGyamfi1]

well others? How about Caro of Monaco? what about her 3 husbands? I think she was in love with Casirighi...

Yes she was in love with Stefano. Her first marriage was rushed because she only married to get away from her family.