Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...
between people of unequal
social rank, which in the context of
royalty
Royalty may refer to:
* Any individual monarch, such as a king, queen, emperor, empress, etc.
* Royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family
* Royalty payment for use of such things as int ...
or other
inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse, or any children born of the marriage. The concept is most prevalent in German-speaking territories and countries most influenced by the customs of the German-speaking realms.
Generally, this is a marriage between a man of high birth (such as from a
reign
A reign is the period of a person's or dynasty's occupation of the office of monarch of a nation (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Andorra), of a people (e.g., the Franks, the Zulus) or of a spiritual community (e.g., Catholicism, Tibetan Budd ...
ing,
deposed or
mediatised dynasty) and a woman of lesser status (such as a daughter of a
low-ranked noble family or a commoner).
[Webster's Online Dictionary](_blank)
. Retrieved 2008-07-10.[ Diesbach, Ghislain de. ''Secrets of the Gotha'' (translated from the French by ]Margaret Crosland
Margaret Crosland is a Canadian former figure skater from Calgary, Alberta. She is the 1958 and 1959 Canadian national champion. She started skating at age 7, and was coached by the Swiss Olympian Hans Gerschwiler. She represented the Glencoe C ...
). Chapman & Hall, Ltd., London, 1967. pp. 18, 25–26, 35, 179–182, 186–187. Usually, neither the bride nor any children of the marriage have a claim on the bridegroom's
succession rights, titles, precedence, or
entailed property. The children are considered legitimate for all other purposes and the prohibition against