How These Royal Partners Are Actually Related

Queen Elizabeth II And Prince Philip

Image Source: Vogue

The recently passed, much loved Queen Elizabeth is one of the many British monarchs that have actually married someone they're related too! They are both related via their connection to Queen Victoria who was both of their great-great-grandmothers. We'll get on to her in a second.

Queen Victoria And Prince Albert

Image Source: Reddit

The British Queen, reigned for over 60 years, and during this time she fell in love and wedded Prince Albert. They were actually cousins however, and they knew this! It was even encouraged by their uncle (both of their uncles) who had done similar himself in the past. They were married until Albert's death in 1961.

King Charles And Diana

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The recently anointed King Charles was once part of a popular marriage that all ended in a horrific manner. Charles cheated on Diana with the now Queen Consort, Camila. They were actually 7th cousins, once removed, although their marriage didn't last particularly long.

King Charles And The Queen Consort

Image Source: NBC News

Not only were Charles and Diana related, but he's also related to the now Queen Consort, Camilla. In fact, it's even believed that Camilla and Princess Diana were even related! Charles and Camilla are related via Camilla's great grandmother being Charles' great grandfather's mistress!

The Duke And Duchess Of Cambridge

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In the eyes of the British monarchy, Catherine Middleton, the Duchess, is very much a commoner. She comes from family that aren't considered royal; although the Duke and Duchess are also remotely related. They are 11th cousins, once removed, via and old time Baronet.

Harry And Meghan

Image Source: The Hollywood Reporter

You would never have guessed but the now separated royal couple, Harry and Meghan actually have some relation between the two, despite them coming from completely different backgrounds. This is pushing the boat a little but, they do share a distant relation of the Queen Mother.

Prince Edward And Sophie Rhys-Jones

Image Source: BBC

The Earl of Wessex, is yet another of the current royal family members who have married one of their cousins. Although they are 11th cousins, and related via a long history they are continuing this odd tradition. They married in 1999, and for those that don't know, he is King Charles' younger brother.

Elisabeth Of Austria And Franz Joseph I

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Empress Elisabeth was born in to Austria's royalty, and later married into the Hungarian royal family at just 16 years of age. She married Emperor Franz Joseph I who was actually supposed to marry Elisabeth's sister; he instead decided he preferred Elisabeth and so they wed.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson

Image Source: Vanity Fair

Prince Andrew has obviously become quite a controversial figure in the last few years after his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein became apparent. However, he actually married someone who could be related to him, Sarah Ferguson's grandmother was actually Queen Elizabeth II's aunt.

Princess Eugenie And Jack Brooksbank

Image Source: The Sun

Princess Eugenie is the daughter of Andrew and Sarah Ferguson; she is actually also related to her partner, Jack Brooksbank. They are actually 3rd cousins once removed, this comes as a result of Eugenies great great grandmother being related to Brooksbanks great great grandfather.

King George IV And Caroline Of Brunswick

Image Source: Daily Express

Just the generation prior to Queen Victoria marrying her cousin, her Uncle and former King George IV also married his first cousin; she became the future Queen Caroline of Brunswick. This marriage evidently wasn't a happy one however as they actually split up within a year of their marriage.

King George VI And Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

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Queen Elizabeth's parents King George VI and Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon were another Monarchy couple that were related at marriage. This time however, the relation was extremely weak; they were 13th cousins, related via Henry VII, who was George's 12th great grandfather.

King Edward VII And Queen Alexandra

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King Edward Vii, if you didn't know was the son of Queen Victoria, and he followed his mom's footsteps by marrying his cousin. They were only 3rd cousins however, merged by King George II. They were married until Edward's death in 1910, and the marriage was marred by adultery allegations towards Edward.

King George V And Queen Mary

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Evidently, the British monarchy have a big history or marrying within the family, in this case Queen Victoria's grandson, King George married his second cousin. They were related via the sharing of a great grandparent, King George III. I wonder why this was so common?

Henry VII And Elizabeth of York

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Going back to the wedding of King George VI and Elizabeth, Henry VII was the relative they were merged together by. He also married his 3rd cousin and this is going all the way back to the 1500's. It's not just a recent thing, but something that has been going on for centuries over there.

Maria I And King Pedro III

Image Source: Unofficial Royalty

As Maria was her Father's final heir, she was forced to get married. The rules meant she had to marry a royal and from her own country so she married her uncle Pedro III. Surprisingly, their relationship was very successful, they loved eachother and even had 7 children together. One of which married Maria's sister!

Jose, Prince Of Brazil And Benedita Of Portugal

Image Source: Wikidata

Jose was the aforementioned son of Maria I following her descent in to madness. He married his aunt when he was aged 15 and she was 30 as a dying request from his father. 3 days after the marriage his father died and Jose became the Prince of Brazil. Odd person to want your son to marry though!

Cleopatra And Ptolemy XIII

Image Source: CNN

You probably don't know this guy even existed, most people have only heard of Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. However, aged 13 Cleopatra was forced to marry her 10 year old brother to share the throne. He didn't want to co-rule with her and refused until Julius Caesar's arrival.

Princess Victoria Melita And Ernest Of Hesse

Image Source: Tea Time at Winter Palace

Despite her role as a royal being minor, who she married was ultimately not really under her control; and Queen Victoria requested she marry someone close to home (very close to home) in her first cousin Ernest of Hesse. They had one child but the rumour was that Ernest was gay and didn't have any true love for Victoria.

Princess Victoria Melita and Cyril Romanov

Image Source: Unofficial Royalty

Back with our girl, Princess Melita who married another of her first cousins. She actually wanted to marry Cyril Romanov originally but Queen Victoria was against it. She divorced Ernest, against the wishes of Victoria and married Cyril without the Russian Tsars permission. They were banned from the country for a while after.

Kamehameha III And Nahi'ena'ena

Image Source: Honolulu Museum of Art

Unlike in the UK, Hawaiians looked down on Incest, unless they were royalty. They believed if a child was born to siblings it was divine. It's believed that the two were engaging in relations before they had even turned 10 years old. Missionaries stopped them from marrying, although they still did it secretly.

King Chulalongkorn

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In 1868 aged just 15, Chulalongkorn (what a name by the way) was made king. Throughout his reign he married 153 times, four of which were his half-sisters. The Thai royal family believed that the more royal blood you had the greater a person you'd be. So brother sister relationships were popular.

Zaitian

Image Source: China Expedition Tours

Zaitian was never meant to rule but following the death of his cousin he was made emperor, and his wife was chosen by his aunt. Instead of allowing him to choose a wife, she made him marry her niece and his cousin Xiao Ding Jing. They never enjoyed their marriage and Zaitian would engage in relations with his concubine.

Philip IV Of Spain

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Philip was the last of the Habsburg monarchs, a group that ultimately started their own downfall. Of the 11 marriages, 9 of them were between close family members; his mother was also his third cousin. He married his niece in 1649 although by this point he was apparently seriously deformed.

Philip II Of Spain and Anna Of Austria

Image Source: Britannica

Anna of Austria was Philip II's fourth and final wife, he was actually married to Mary I of England before her death in 1558. The weird part of his final marriage was that Anna of Austria was actually his niece; during which time they had 5 children, 3 of which died before Philip's death.

Charles II Of Austria And Maria Anna Of Bavaria

Image Source: European Royal History

Charles II was another member of the Hapsburg family that suffered from severe issues as a result of the incestuous nature of the family. Maria Anna was chosen as Charles' wife in order to help get political support for Austria from Bavaria. They had 15 children in 18 years of marriage and became a nun following her husbands death.

Ferdinand II And Maria Anna Of Bavaria

Image Source: Wikidata

This time it's a different Maria Anna of Bavaria, but she also married someone she was related too. This time she married her first cousin in order to reaffrim an alliance between the Hapsburg house and the Wittelsbach house. She gave birth to 7 children, 5 of which survived to adulthood.

Shah Jahan And Jahanara

Image Source: Quora

Shah Jahan will forever be remembered as the Mughal King that oversaw the building of the Taj Mahal, one of the biggest tourist destinations in the world. Following his wife's death he decided to marry his own daughter Jahanara because they looked alike. She was so upset her father was distraught that she agreed.

Ramesses II

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Upon discovering the tomb of Ramessess II it was found that he had fathered more than 150 children, some of which he had with some of his sisters. In fact it's believed that he actually married 4 of his sisters including, Bintanath, Nefertari and Henutmire. There were actually 5 more wives as well.

Oedipus

Image Source: Medium

In Greek mythology, Oedipus was the King of Thebes, who accidentally killed his father, and then unwittingly married his mother. Although stories have varied, thanks to the story being passed down for centuries it's believed that his mother ended her life when she found out.