Technically, the upcoming weddings of two European royals, Prince William of Wales (April 29, 2011) and Prince Albert II of Monaco (July 1, 2011) cannot be called "royal weddings" in the correct sense because they are not marrying royal Princesses.
Prior to the 20th century, all European royals married into royalty, hence the term "royal wedding" but following World War II, well, except Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and King Juan Carlos of Spain who married true blooded royals (Elizabeth to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and Juan Carlos to Philip's niece, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark), none of the current European monarchs and their heirs (including the successors of Elizabeth and Juan Carlos) married into royalty.
Prior to the 20th century, all European royals married into royalty, hence the term "royal wedding" but following World War II, well, except Queen Elizabeth II of Britain and King Juan Carlos of Spain who married true blooded royals (Elizabeth to Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark and Juan Carlos to Philip's niece, Princess Sophia of Greece and Denmark), none of the current European monarchs and their heirs (including the successors of Elizabeth and Juan Carlos) married into royalty.
Prince Georg of Prussia and his fiancee, Princess Sophie of Isenburg (photo from www.theroyalcorrespondent.com)
All potential European monarchs took commoner spouses eroding the true mystic of their respective Kingdoms. But elsewhere in Europe, one Prince, the current head of the royal house of Hohenzollern in Germany, sticked to the old royal tradition of taking a royal spouse to retain its royal status both in sentiment and reality. Prince Georg Friedrick of Prussia, a third cousin to all current European crown heads through Queen Victoria of England, announced his engagement last January 21, 2011 to the 32-year-old Princess of Isenburg, Sophie whose two sisters, Princess Katharine and Princess Isabel, also married into royalty. Hohenzollern and Isenburg in Germany are the only remaining royal houses in Europe that admonished its descendants to strictly marry fellow royals. Prince Georg and Princess Sophie's wedding might happen late this year.
Georg and Sophie finished Business Administration degree in Germany and both connected with prestigious business firms in Germany. As Queen Elizabeth II's double third cousin, Prince Georg is in line of succession to the British throne, but just like his second cousin, Prince Ernst of Hanover who married Princess Caroline of Monaco (sister of Prince Albert II), a Roman Catholic, he too would be removed from his position in the British succession after his marriage to Princess Sophie because she is a Roman Catholic. The rule of succession in Britain strictly barred any descendants from succeeding if they will take a Roman Catholic spouse because a British monarch will be automatically become the Supreme head of the Church of England, a protestant religion. Some of the Queen's cousins already cost their places in the line of succession: Prince Michael of Kent, the Earls of St. Andrews and Downpatrick are no longer eligible to succeed. King Juan Carlos of Spain, his wife, Queen Sophia, King Albert II of Belgium, Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg are all third cousins Queen Elizabeth II but because they are Roman Catholics, they and their descendants are removed from the line of succession.
Anyway, the tradition of royalty marrying within their circle is in order to protect the throne from attracting scandals and controversies that haunted the present European royal houses. Royalists believe that keeping within the tradition, crowns could never be tarnished and the reverence could forever be preserved. But when royals started taking a different route by allowing commoners to join their mystical existence, the enchantment ceases and the public began treating them like movie stars which annoyed Queen Elizabeth II.
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