Royal descent
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A royal descent is a
Both
In genealogy, royal descent is sometimes claimed as a mark of distinction and is seen as a desirable goal. However, due to the incompleteness and uncertainty of existing records, the number of people who do claim royal descent tends to be higher than the number who can actually prove it.
Logically, for every royal in a person's family tree, there is bound to be a virtually unlimited number of individuals whose births, deaths and lives went completely unrecorded by history.[4] According to authors Jiri Louda and Michael Maclagan, statistically[5]
... most of the inhabitants of Western Europe are probably descended from William the Conqueror; they are equally likely to be descended from the man who groomed his charger.
— Lines Of Succession - Heraldry Of The Royal Families Of Europe, Jiri Louda and Michael Maclagan
Europe
There has been a long tradition for royalty predominantly to intermarry those of their own class. As a result, the ruling houses of Europe have tended to be closely related to one another, and descent from a particular monarch will be found in many dynasties – all present European monarchs, and a great many pretenders, are genealogical descendants of William the Conqueror (1028–1087), for example,[5] and further back in time of Charlemagne (742/747/748–814). Through Charlemagne, some researchers have even speculated on descent from antiquity.
The practice of restrictive marriages has been noted as increasing over the years until the 20th century: the passage of time strengthened the conviction that royalty only allied with royalty, and from the 16th century marriages between royal and commoner became rarer and rarer. This is one reason why descent from more recent monarchs is rarer amongst commoners than from monarchs further back.[5]
Members of untitled families today may be descended from
United States
At one time, publications on this matter stressed royal connections for only a few families. One example included
According to American genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts, an expert on royal descent, most Americans with significant
Due to
Over time, opposing factors have affected the percentage of Americans who have provable royal descent. The passage of the generations has further intermingled the ancestry of the English colonists' descendants, thus increasing the percentage who descend from one of the immigrants with royal ancestry. At the same time, however, waves of post-colonial immigrants from other countries decreased the percentage who have royal descent.
Africa
Royal descent plays an important role in many African societies; authority and property tend to be lineally derived. Among tribes which recognize a single ruler, the hereditary blood line of the rulers (who early European travelers described as kings, queens, princes, etc., using the terminology of European monarchy) is akin to a dynasty.[15] Among groups which have less centralized power structures, dominant clans are still recognized.[15] Oral history would be the primary method of transmitting genealogies, and both nobles and commoners base their status on descent. The royal blood is among the centralized power of all blood groups.
Asia-Pacific
Many Asian and Oceanic or Pacifican cultures or civilizations have a veneration for royal descents. Many Muslims revere descents from Ali and his father-in-law, Muhammad. In India, Pakistan, Bengal (Bangladesh), Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and China, such lines are sometimes revered, even if there were no special merit attached to it. In China, a book of surnames was compiled, and updated most recently under the Ming dynasty.
Proof of royal ancestry
Royal descent is easier to prove than descent from less historically documented ancestors, since genealogies and public records are typically fuller, better known and preserved in the case of royal descent than in the case of descent from less noted individuals. Typically, it is only since the 20th century that family history has been an interest pursued by people outside the
Between 1903 and 1911, the genealogist Melville Henry Massue produced volumes titled The Blood Royal of Britain - which attempted to name all the then-living descendants of King Edward III of England (1312–1377) - were published. He gave up the exercise after publishing the names of about 40,000 living people, but his own estimate was that the total of those of royal descent who could be proved and named if he completed his work at that time was 100,000 people. His work, however, was heavily dependent upon those whose names were readily ascertainable from works of genealogical reference, such as Burke's Peerage and Landed Gentry.
See also
- Dynasty
- Descent from antiquity
- Descent from Genghis Khan
- Royal family
- Most recent common ancestor
- Identical ancestors point
- Inbreeding
- Concubinage
- Consort
- Issue (genealogy)
- Legitimacy (family law)
- Primogeniture
- Royal bastard
- Royal mistress
- Pretender
References
- ^ Transactions of the Royal Historical Society: Sixth Series (Royal Historical Society Transactions) by Royal Historical Society
- ^ Medieval Genealogy and Family History
- ^ Conniff, Richard. "Why Genealogy is Bunk." Smithsonian Magazine. July 2007. p.90.
- ^ "Genealogist: Almost Everyone on Earth Descended From Royalty". Fox News. 5 July 2006.
- ^ ISBN 978-0760732878.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ^ Eleanor Herman. Sex with Kings
- ^ Eleanor Herman. Sex with Queens
- ^ Browning, CH (1891) Americans of Royal descent (via Google books)
- ^ Roberts, GB (1988) Notable Kin Presidents, New England and Kings (via NEHGS website)
- ^ Roberts, GB () #68 Royal Descents, Notable Kin, and Printed Sources: Notable Descendants of Mrs. Alice Freeman Thompson Parke (via NEHGS website Archived 2009-01-15 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ Wollmershäuser, Friedrich R. German Noble Descent in American Family Tradition.
- ^ a b c Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States (NEHGS Store description page)
- ^ Roberts, Gary Boyd. The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants. Genealogical Publishing, 2008.[1]
- ^ Lady of Arlington by John Perry
- ^ JSTOR 2844410.