Contemporary Royalty

In this section you can find articles about various current royal issues and questions.

Commoners in Royal Houses
by Vanesa Montacuto Chaminaud

Analysis of why royal marriage to commoners is so frequent and the possible consequences for the future of the monarchies in which it happens

Diana and Attitudes to Marriage
by Kelly Lacroix

How Diana’s marriage failure pushed various Royal families to reconsider what makes an ideal union.

God Save Our Gracious…President?
by Sam Crawford

As the Queen approaches her Golden Jubilee and Prince Charles reaches the age where most of his contemporaries retire, what are the prospects for the future of the British monarchy? Is Prince William able and willing to carry the institution forward, or is it time to start thinking about a republic?

No Empress for Japan?
by Chiara Beekvelt

Crown Prince Naruhito of Japan and his wife Crown Princess Masako have just one child, Princess Aiko. She cannot follow her father on the throne because women have no succession rights in Japan. However, this rule has led to an imminent dearth of eligible heirs which may put the very survival of the monarchy at risk. This article discusses the probability of changes regarding the succession law in the near future.

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Today in Royal History

Francis II of France was born on 19 January 1544, 10 years after his parents' wedding. His mother, Catherine de' Medici, had no power at her husband's court, having to defer to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. Henri II died when Francis was only 15, and Catherine finally had the power she craved as regent. Francis, who was married to Mary Queen of Scots, lived for only a year as king, dying in 1560.

Charlotte of Belgium, daughter of Leopold I (Queen Victoria's maternal uncle), married Maximilian of Austria in 1857; he was offered the Mexican throne in 1864, at which Charlotte became Empress Carlota. By 1867 Maximilian had been executed by revolutionary forces and Carlota was having mental problems. She spent the rest of her life in Europe, dying in Belgium on 19 January 1927.

Princess Margriet of The Netherlands, younger sister of Queen Beatrix, was born on 19 January 1943 in Ottawa, Canada, where her parents had lived since the Nazi occupation of The Netherlands in 1940. In order that she should hold Dutch citizenship only, not Canadian citizenship, the Canadian government declared the maternity ward where she was born to be temporarily extraterritorial.