Norwegian Royals marrying Commoners

[paulchen]

Something Observer just mentioned reminded me of something I noticed a little while back in the family tree of the Norwegian Royal Family - the high instance of intermarriage/cousin marrying cousin. No wonder Harald stood his ground against his father King Olav V in marrying a commoner to bring new blood into the family and presumably didn't object to either of his children doing the same.

[observer]

I'm not sure King Harald's wish to introduce new genes into the Norwegian royal family was a factor in his marriage = after all, the Oldenburgs had been intermarrying happily for centuries.

Many years ago there were newspaper cartoons that featured the words "Happiness Is...." I can remember one rather tasteless extension being an adaption of the words from the old Woodbury soap advertisement about "having the skin you love to touch" - it dropped the "s"!

I think it tapped a hidden truth that intermarriage has been (and still is in some places) far more common that modern society believes or admits and not just limited to members of royal families.

Intermarriage or cousin-marriage used to be wide spread in the days before the invention of railways and the migration of rural communities to urban centers during the Industrial Revolution - and even after. In fact, throughout most of human history, intermarriage or inbreeding has probably been the rule rather than the exception. In some cultures, such as in Pakistan and the Near East, most marriages still are between relatives, I believe.

There was numerous well-known examples of intermarriage. Franklin D. Roosevelt and Elinor Roosevelt were fifth cousins. Edgar Allan Poe married his 13-year old first cousin, Virginia Clemm. The Darwins (of Charles Darwin fame) and the Wedgwoods (of Josiah Wedgwood fame) were as intermarried as any royal family. The Rothschilds intermarried as as much as the Bourbons, I believe. The present King of Thailand and his wife are first cousins. The Crown Prince's first wife was/is also his first cousin (of course, they descend from King Chulalongkorn, who married four of his half-sisters). Even Wikipedia has lists of such people.

I think we simply know more about royal intermarriage than that of commoners, and so assume that it was/is something peculiar to them.

[paulchen]

Hi Observer, I wasn't necessarily stating that King Harald of Norway went out with the intention of never marrying a princess, just that he may be looking back, pleased that he found love in a woman who wasn't royal.

And I'm also not talking about intermarriage in the Oldenburgs happening for centuries, I was referring to the recent incidents. For example, King Harald's own parents were first cousins; his maternal grandparents were first cousins; his paternal grandparents were first cousins once removed; his maternal great-great grandparents were second cousins.

A family tree of the Norwegian Royal Family really brought it home to me. It would be too close for me...