Inbreeding
Over time, due to the relatively limited number of potential consorts, the gene pool of many ruling families grew progressively smaller, until all European royalty were related. This also resulted in many being descended from a certain person through many lines of descent, such as the numerous European royalty and nobility descended from the British Queen Victoria or King Christian IX of Denmark. The House of Habsburg was infamous for its inbreeding, with the Habsburg lip cited as an ill-effect, although no genetic evidence has proved the allegation. The closely related houses of Habsburg, Bourbon and Wittelsbach also engaged in first-cousin unions frequently and in double-cousin and uncle-niece marriages occasionally.
Read more about this topic: Royal Intermarriage
Famous quotes containing the word inbreeding:
“Be reflective ... and stay away from the theater as much as you can. Stay out of the theatrical world, out of its petty interests, its inbreeding tendencies, its stifling atmosphere, its corroding influence. Once become “theatricalized,” and you are lost, my friend; you are lost.”
—Minnie Maddern Fiske (1865–1932)