To keep the royal bloodline pure, kings often married within their family, a sister or half sister, for example. In a few cases, they married their daughters, although it is not clear whether or not these marriages were true conjugal unions.
Scientists have identified Akhenaten, the “heretic” king who introduced monotheism to ancient Egypt, as Tutankhamun's father. Akhenaten first married Nefertiti, who was renowned for her great beauty, but had no sons so he then married his sister in an effort to have a son.
Isabella of Valois (aged 6) was married to Richard II of England (aged 29) in October 1396, a little over a week before her seventh birthday. The marriage was never consummated.
Twisted Travis Fieldgrove, 42, admitted to romping then wedding his daughter Samantha Kersher, 21, in 2018. The estranged pair first met when Samantha was just 17 after her mother revealed Fieldgrove was her father.
Oedipus, in Greek mythology, the king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. Homer related that Oedipus's wife and mother hanged herself when the truth of their relationship became known, though Oedipus apparently continued to rule at Thebes until his death.
This king claimed the boy and raised him as his own. When Oedipus grew to manhood, a prophet warned him that he would kill his father and marry his mother.
Fathers tried to marry their daughters off to acquire more land, titles and increase social status, but they also had to provide a dowry for their daughter. A dowry could include anything from money to land, and the larger the dowry the more desirable the girl was to her future husband and his family.
Isabella became Countess of Angoulême in her own right on 16 June 1202, by which time she was already queen of England. Her marriage, at age 12 or 14, to King John took place on 24 August 1200, in Angoulême, a year after he annulled his first marriage to Isabel of Gloucester.
Why did Henry VIII marry Katherine of Aragon? He loved her – and Spanish Katherine's powerful family also provided useful allies to the English throne. Katherine was first married to Henry's older brother, Arthur, who died soon afterwards.
In 1997, Ziona succeeded his father Chana, who in turn had succeeded Khuangtuaha in 1966. He had 39 wives, 94 children, 14 daughters-in-law, 33 grandchildren and one great grandchild; 181 family members in total and counting. His family and their four-story residence are one of the major tourist attractions in Mizoram.
Edward I of England truly loved his wife, Eleanor of Castile so much that when she died, memorial crosses were erected by the king's command at every stop her body lay from her death in Lincoln to her burial in Westminster.
Henry VIII (1509-1547) is one of history's most famous monarchs. His radical political and religious upheavals reshaped the Tudor world. He is best known for his six marriages and his life-long pursuit of a male heir.
In Europe, the practice was most prevalent from the medieval era until the outbreak of World War I, but evidence of intermarriage between royal dynasties in other parts of the world can be found as far back as the Late Bronze Age.
Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving monarch in Britain's history, but it was a decision by her uncle that cleared Elizabeth's path to the throne. King Edward abdicated in 1936 so he could marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson, making Elizabeth's father the new king.
Diana's royal roots
In addition, this royal connection means that Diana and her husband Prince Charles were very distant cousins, via several lines. In particular, they each descend from a daughter of Henry VII: Margaret, who married James IV of Scotland, and Mary, who married Charles Brandon.
Islamic tradition states that Aisha was either six or seven years old when she married Muhammad. Aisha bint Abi Bakr is believed to have married the prophet in 619, when Muhammad would have been around 49 years old. The marriage was not consummated until several years later, when the girl was 10.
George III was devoted to his wife, Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. They had 15 children, 13 of whom reached adulthood.
The purpose of royal mistresses emerged due to the fact that a king's marriage was for political purposes only. However, many kings defied this expectation by marrying their mistresses. Usually, this was done as a morganatic marriage, which meant that the woman couldn't acquire the title of Queen Consort.
Monarchs have had an incentive to take mistresses in that they generally made dynastic marriages of convenience, and there was often little love in them. Beyond the physical relationship, the royal mistress has often exercised a profound influence over the king, extending even to affairs of state.
William II, Edward V, Edward VI, and Elizabeth I all lived and died unmarried. In addition, Edward VIII was unmarried during his tenure as monarch, though he then married Wallis Simpson after his abdication (which was caused by this marriage plan).
Abumbi II, the 11th fon, or king, of Bafut, Cameroon, has close to 100 wives. They weren't all his to start. According to local tradition, when a fon dies, his successor inherits all his wives and then marries his own queens.
KING HENRY VIII & KATHERINE OF ARAGON
Theirs was the original royal divorce: King Henry VIII famously split with the Catholic church in 1534 in order to divorce the first of his six wives, Katherine of Aragon, who had not become pregnant with a male heir throughout their marriage.
Answer and Explanation: King George III had only one wife, and unlike his predecessors, reportedly never took any mistresses.