Morganatic marriage

A morganatic marriage is a type of marriage which can be contracted in certain countries, usually between persons of unequal social rank (unebenbürtig in German), which prevents the passage of the husband's titles and privileges to the wife and any children born of the marriage. Other terms used are morganic [1], and left-handed marriage [2] (because in the wedding ceremony the groom held his bride's right hand with his left hand instead of his right).

Historically, in the German state, the marriage is between a male from a royal or reigning house, and a woman of lesser status being non-royal or within a non-reigning house. Sometimes the woman has had a profession traditionally considered lower-status. Although various rights do not pass to her or the children, the children are considered legitimate and the prohibition of bigamy applies.

Etymology

Morganatic, not used in English until 1727 (OED), is derived from the 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. Morning gift, i.e dower. The Latin term applied to a Germanic custom, was adopted from a Germanic term, *morgangeba (compare Early English morgengifu and German Morgengabe).

European History

Germanic States

The practice of a bride price was noted by the Roman historian Tacitus in his observations of the barbarian Germanic tribes. Also called a morning gift, it has been a customary property arrangement in medieval German cultures (such as Langobards) and the church drove its adoption into other countries in order to improve the wife's security by this additional benefit. The bride received a settled 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 (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 ad morganaticum.

The practice of morganatic marriage was most common in the German-speaking parts of Europe, where equality of birth between the spouses was considered an important principle among the reigning houses and high nobility. 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. Although most common for the man to be the aristocrat, one notable exception was Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma. She was by birth an Archduchess of the Imperial House of Habsburg. Her first marriage was as an Empress of France) with Napoleon I. She contracted a morganatic second marriage with a count after the death of her first husband

France

Morganatic marriage is not, and has not been, possible in jurisdictions that do not allow for the required freedom of contracting with regard to the marriage contract, as it is an agreement containing that pre-emptive limitation to the inheritance and property rights of the wife and the children.

There has never been morganatic marriage in France and morganatic marriage never existed in French laws. Equality of birth isn't that important in France because antiquity of nobility in the male line is only taken in accounts: a French should have "cent ans de noblesse" (100 years in the male line) to become a Knight of Malta. In contrast, a German should have "quatre quartiers de noblesse" (all four grandparents being noble) for the same purpose.

There is only one example of a French practice that is similar. They have had the secret marriage. The marriage took place in private and was never officially announced (although it might be widely known), and thus the woman never publicly shared her husband's titles and rank. Louis XIV of France married Madame de Maintenon in this way. They had no children. In such cases, the concern here is that the Sovereign leave heirs, and in the secret marriage he leave no children.

The United Kingdom

Morganatic marriage has been a problematic topic in the United Kingdom, compounded by their unwritten constitution. Some of the wives of Henry VIII were considered by Rome to be only mistresses. This was the beginning of the Church of England, the State Church of the United Kingdom, where these marriages could be determined legal. The Royal Marriages Act of 1772 made it illegal for any member of the British royal family to marry without the permission of the King. A marriage contracted without the King’s consent might be lawful in the eyes of the Church, but the children born of it could not inherit any claim to the throne: thus the official denial of the marriage of George, Prince of Wales and Mrs Fitzherbert, and the refusal of Victoria to the marriage of the second Duke of Cambridge, whose morganatic wife, Sarah Louisa Fairbrother was refused the title of Duchess, but was received everywhere as "Mrs FitzGeorge."

A different approach was used by Queen Caroline, who became Queen Consort in spite of vociferous protests from her estranged husband, King George IV. Upon her insistence of the title, he then introduced a parliamentary bill to divorce and strip her of her title: this failed in the face of opposition from the London mob.

Accepting a lesser title is less problematic and has no legal barriers. This occurred in the instance of the decision made by the daughter of the Earl of Wessex. She requested to be known simply as Lady Louise Windsor rather the HRH Princess Louise of Wessex. It was acknowledged however that Lady Louise would be free to assume the higher (and correct) style and title upon reaching adulthood.

There may have been at least one morganatic marriage in the British royalty. Catherine of Valois, dowager queen of Henry V, is said to have entered into such a union with Owen Tudor about or before the year 1429, or they never married. (Their eldest child, Edmund Tudor, was the father of Henry VII.)

Another situation that could be viewed as morganatic could occur because of the Royal Marriages Act: if a couple lives together, wanting to believe they are married, but dynastically they are not and when British law does not recognize them as married. This was the case with the second marriage of Augustus, Duke of Sussex, sixth son of George III of Great Britain. He undertook two marriages against the provisions of the Act, thus being invalid on British soil. However, his second marriage with Letitia Underwood was tolerated by Queen Victoria. Presumably, in the eyes of law, the Duke was never in marriage with Letitia. Had it been otherwise, she would have been the Duchess of Sussex. Queen Victoria created her title as the Duchess of Inverness, and the Duke and Duchess cohabited, being socially regarded as spouses. If the situation is interpreted in a way that their marriage was valid, then the Queen's actions would mean that it was morganatic and that the only titles and rights Letitia was entitled to were those specifically granted to her, but not those of the Duke. The most probable application of law is, however, that they were simply cohabiting lovers without a legal marriage, and each had their separate titles.

Twentieth Century

Austria-Hungary

A morganatic marriage was involved in the start of World War I.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria married Countess Sophie Chotek von Chotkowa. The bride was made Princess (later Duchess) of Hohenberg by Franz Josef.

Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, first met Sophie Chotek von Chotkova at a dance in Prague in 1888, and they fell in love. They kept their relationship secret for three years, before it became known to the Emperor. The Archduke knew that although Sophie came from a prominent Bohemian family, since she was not descending from the House of Hapsburg or from another ruling dynasty in Europe,she would not be an acceptable Empress. Emperor Franz Josef was against the marriage. Although Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and Pope Leo XIII all tried to convince the Archduke that such a liaison would undermine the stability of the monarchy, Franz Ferdinand was adamant and they were married.

The 1899 agreement was that the Archduke would be allowed to marry Sophie, but she would not be Empress and their children would take their mother's name and rank, and be excluded from the imperial succession. She also would not be allowed to accompany her husband in the royal carriage nor could she sit by his side in the royal box. The only family members to attend the wedding were the stepmother of Franz Ferdinand and her two daughters. The couple had three children: Sophie (1901), Maximilian (1902) and Ernst (1904).

In June of 1914 the Archduke and Sophie were invited to review the troops in the provinces of of Bosnia-Herzegovina. This was a politically volatile time where large numbers of people living in Bosnia-Herzegovina were unhappy with Austrian rule and favored union with Serbia. Just before 10 o'clock on Sunday, 28th June, 1914, the royal couple arrived in Sarajevo by train. They were escorted together in a second car of a six car procession, with the car's top rolled back to allow the crowds a good view of its occupants.

Although within ten minutes one bomb was hurled and many spectators and two escorting dignitaries were seriously wounded, the royal couple refused to part as requested by the security personnel. The subsequent assassination of the Archduke was the catalyst for the start of World War I.

Russia

Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Alexander III of Russia, married twice-divorced noblewoman Natalya Sergeyevna Wulfert (née Sheremetevskaya). Nicholas II, Michael's older brother, made the bride Countess Brassova. They were banished at the start of their affair, and were married in Vienna in a Serbian Orthodox Church, not the official state church of Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church. They returned at the onset of Wolrd War I. The son of Michael and Natalya, George, took his mother's name and rank, and was excluded from the imperial succession (Crawford, 1997).

However, when the Russian monarchy collapsed because of the Bolshevik Revolution, there was, and is today, some great debate involving that morganatic marriage and the right to the throne. On 11 August 1911,Czar Nicholas II amended Article 188 of the Pauline Laws - to clarify that only equal ranks were allowed to pass title and inheritance. Yet on March 15, 1917 he gave all titles and rule to his brother, Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich in public and Michael publicly accepted. Czar Nicholas II was subsequently executed by the Bolsheviks who then created the non-monarchic, communist government in 1917. Among those who seek the return of the monarchy in "exile", contesting the legality of the current government,the issue of lineage becomes very important because of the morganatic marriage.

Their children,Grand Duchess Maria and Grand Duke Georgie, have some claim to the Russian throne that stems from this "abdication". There is some precedent in Russian morganatic marriages of having the sovereign raise the rank of his spouse subsequent to reign. Morganatic rule usually applied to heirs prior to reign, thus leaving the reigning sovereign that freedom of raising the rank of the previously morganatic spouse to that of co-sovereign. Some have said that the Grand Duke Michael was Sovereign in "exile", and could raise his wife to the level of Empress, and thus the lineage could pass through to their children. What is not clear is if such declarations occurred and Czar Nicholas II had power to nullify his own law.

United Kingdom

The marriage of King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson was not to be morganatic, although Edward had proposed this expediency to Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin, who rejected the idea after consultations with the governments of the Dominions. Ultimately, Edward renounced all of his titles for himself and successors when he abdicated, and was created Duke of Windsor. When they married, his wife became Duchess, and any male children would have inherited the title. The style H.R.H. (Her Royal Highness) is in the sovereign's gift, though it is normally conferred as a matter of course. But it was specifically not granted to Wallis Simpson. As it happened, they had no children.

Upon the engagement of Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles in February 2005, it was announced that, after the marriage, Mrs. Parker Bowles would take the title Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall, and that once the Prince accedes to the throne she would not be known as Queen Camilla but as Her Royal Highness The Princess Consort. This form of address is based on that used by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, who was the Prince Consort.

This is similar to a morganatic marriage in that the wife does not apparently acquire her husband's rank and titles. However, that this is morganatic has two major problems. One, the decision was not based upon Mrs. Parker Bowles's social rank, but upon her marital status even though she does not have the required lineage. Two, this decision does not have any legal standing. Under United Kingdom law, Mrs. Parker Bowles legally became the Princess of Wales upon her marriage to Prince Charles. Similarly, upon Charles's coronation she would legally Queen Consort, not Princess Consort as announced. She has stated that she will not use the title of Her Royal Highness, probably in respect to the sensitivity regarding her role in the breakup of Prince Charles's first marriage to Diana, Princess of Wales). The discord with law is problematic.

Legacy

Marriage is an institution of government, as well as a reflection of a natural coupling and nexus of identity for people found within their family. Most cultures have very particular norms to guide how people marry and whom, and these families become a cornerstone for their socities. Monarchy originated in the Hebrew tradition when the Hebrew people realized that other people had kings, and they also wanted a king. When they sent their prophet Samuel to ask God, God told them no. But they prevailed upon God, who agreed and gave them King Saul, who governed rather poorly, but was succeded by King David, who was a great king. Other traditions have various stories of the origin of monarchy and aristocracy, but all seem to have undergone tremendous change in the modern world. Nobility has received privelege for their titles, and in return they were expected to perform various duties for their public. This is expressed in the phrase "Noblesse Oblige".

One of these duties was to live in marriages of state, taken on often for the good of the nation, not for the benefit of the individual. As culture developed and individuals had more self-determination and wealth, gradually the idea of "romantic" love came about. Suddenly, common people had something the monarchy did not - romance. When royalty arranged morganatic marriages more or less on their own, it required a paradigm shift. In many cases, this was done easily. However, it is interesting to note that morganatic marriages are at the heart of some of the twentieth centuries greatest historical shifts. The beginning of Wolrd War I, the demise of Czarist Russian and the onset of the Soviet empire. The former Brittish Empire, upon which "the sun never set", has also seen much morganatic drama in the twentieth century. In ancient times, a monarch was like a god, often given Divine Rights. In the present, this "divinity" seems to be cast off in quest of increased humanity. Unfortunately, the modern trend is that common marriages are also less stable.

Perhaps in the future, social science will make more conclusive correlations about various social changes and the effects of the morganatic marriages of royalty had upon these changes in the twentieth century.

Other Examples

• Married in 1557: the Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria, Ruler of the Tirol and Philippine Welser, a bourgeoisie girl though very wealthy. Their children were given a separate title and the issue of Ferdinand's second (and equal) marriage were preferred.

• Married 1835: the Duke and Prince Alexander of Württemberg and Claudine Rhedey. She was made Countess of Hohenstein; their children were later granted titles of Prince and Princess of Teck. The eldest son, Franz, was yet later created Duke of Teck. His daughter Mary of Teck married George V of the United Kingdom.

• Married 1851: Prince Alexander of Hesse and by Rhine, the son of the Grand Duke of Hesse and the Rhine, and Countess Julia von Hauke. The bride was created Princess of Battenberg, and the resulting family provided a sovereign prince, ruler of Bulgaria and queen-consorts for Spain and Sweden as well as (through female descent) the current prince consort for the United Kingdom.

• Married 1880: Emperor Alexander II of Russia and Princess Ekaterina Mihailovna Dolgorukova. The Emperor did not designate this marriage as dynastically equal. They already had a few children. Their children received the title Prince Yurievsky and Princess Yurievskaya. One of their daughters married the Count of Merenberg and had a possibility to become consort Grand Duchess of Luxembourg, but her husband's morganatic birth ultimately prevented that.

• Married 1891: the Grand Duke Michael Mihailovich of Russia was the third child of Grand Duke Michael Nicolaievich of Russia and his wife Olga Fedorovna (born Princess Cecilie of Baden). He attracted the displeasure of the Tsar by marrying beneath his station.

• Charles Frederick, the future 1st Grand Duke of Baden and Prince-Elector of the Holy Roman Empire, the reigning prince of his state, after the death of his first consort Caroline Louise of Hesse-Darmstadt, married in 1787 a younger lady-in-waiting, Louise Caroline Geyer von Geyersberg, using the morganatic formula. At the wedding arrangements, she was created Freifrau von Hochberg. In 1796, the Holy Roman Emperor created her Heilige Römische Reichsgräfin von und zu Hochberg (HRE Countess of Hochberg, Illustrious Highness). After the death of the old grand duke, his grandson Grand Duke Charles I started to see that the ancient House of Baden was to go extinct in male line, if something requisite was not done. Count Leopold of Hochberg (1790-1852), the eldest son of the abovesaid marriage, was married with his great-niece Sophie, granddaughter of the 1st grand duke's first marriage and a daughter of an earlier King of Sweden. To achieve the objective of avoiding extinction, the grand duke Charles I as the heir of the late 1st grand duke on one part and the yet living Countess of Hochberg on the other, contracted an amendment to her marriage stipulations, where the grand duke from his House's part relinquished the morganatical limitation. Accordingly, in the same year, the diet of Baden decreed that Leopold and his two younger brothers are in the line of succession to the Grand Duchy of Baden, as their mother's marriage was no longer limited to rights of only the Morgengabe estate of Hochberg. Louise of Hochberg was accorded the personal title "Princess of Baden," thus she did not become retroactively a dowager Grand Duchess of Baden. The changes met with opposition from King Maximilian I of Bavaria, the husband of one of the sisters of grand duke Charles I, having married her as his second wife, because the king of Bavaria had been waiting for a chance to grab the territories of Baden, to fill the gap between Rhenish Palatinate and Bavaria's major part, the two regions being geographically fully separated from each other by a northern stretch of Baden. Upon the death of Louis I, Grand Duke of Baden, the 1st grand duke's younger and last surviving son of the first marriage, in 1830, Leopold succeeded as 4th reigning Grand Duke of Baden. His descendants, originally from that morganatic marriage, held the grand duchy until 1918 revolution, and still are its claimants.

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Crawford, Donald. Michael and Natasha, Scribner (1997). ISBN 0-684-83430-8
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• [[6]]

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