What is Morganatic Marriage? The most famous couples who entered into a legal relationship with their obvious misalliance. Public opinion and the conclusions of psychologists about unequal marriage.
Morganatic marriage is a legal union between a man and a woman who are at different levels of the social ladder. In this case, we are not talking about the financial superiority of one partner over the other, but about the absence of a royal title from a wife or husband. The postulates of an unequal union are not familiar to every person, so it is worth understanding them.
Pros and cons of morganatic marriage
In the photo, a morganatic marriage
The concept of morganatic marriage appeared in the XVIII-XIX centuries. A similar union existed before, but it became popular precisely in the announced time. Regardless of the country in which the non-standard couple decided to legalize their relationship, they were all based on real feeling.
Psychologists articulate the benefits of an unequal marriage as follows:
- Prestige. From rags to riches - a tough definition of a change in status for one of the spouses after the conclusion of a morganatic marriage. Many girls from good families became the wives of princes, but even their enviable position before marriage cannot compare with the new position in society.
- Fame. Those women whom even neighbors might not be interested in before, in an instant appear on the first covers of the most eminent publications. They are recognized at any event, they try to exchange a few words with them and even dream of just standing next to the celestial dweller. School girlfriends who might have teased the future crown princess or duchess at one time are beginning to boast of such an acquaintance.
- Material goods … Actresses, barmaids, students from poor families, having received a loud title, become the owners of a bank account with a decent amount on it.
Despite the obvious advantages of a beneficial union for a commoner, you should prepare for the following restrictions on a free life:
- Life under the gun of cameras … Within the walls of the royal residence, you can not be afraid of the attention of the paparazzi. However, the life of a commoner who has become a noble person will not be of interest only to hermits. In addition, the new regulation obliges the new member of the royal family to actively participate in the public life of the country. It is at such moments that one will have to fully experience the intrusiveness and impudence of some representatives of the press.
- Inadmissibility of frivolous behavior … Mimicking her friend Sarah Ferguson, Lady Dee decided to joke with the woman in front of her in the sirloin. An ordinary umbrella became the instrument of the crime, but then Diana had to regret such a prank. An innocent joke was blown up to the size of vulgar behavior.
Read also about the disadvantages of unequal marriages.
Morganatic marriage in Russia
In the Russian Empire, such unions were concluded, but either secretly, or in the event of refusal to inherit the title. There were still exceptions when the autocrats of Russia did not write the law on such a sensitive issue.
Examples of what a morganatic marriage is in Russia:
- Peter I … The great generator of innovations, shocking the eminent persons of that era, was firm in his decision to arrange his personal life in defiance of public opinion. His marriage to Martha Skavronskaya, about which there were juicy rumors, was not subject to discussion among the nobility. Their joint daughter, Elizabeth I, became the Empress of All Russia. She was born before the marriage of her parents, but she had unlimited rights.
- Elizabeth I … The daughter of Peter the Great was like her father in character, so she was not stopped by the prohibitions on her personal life. Her lover became the empress's secret spouse, which only a few knew about. In the future, Alexei Razumovsky had to destroy the compromising document, but even then not of his own free will.
- Catherine II … Her long relationship and marriage with the statesman Grigory Potemkin were so carelessly hidden that all the courtiers knew about their amorous history.
- Grand Duke Nikolai … A descendant of the royal family was declared insane because of his relationship with a Frenchwoman of easy virtue and further marriage to the daughter of the police chief Nadezhda Dreyer.
- Alexander II. Two months after the death of the empress was enough for the autocrat to conclude an unequal alliance with Catherine Dolgoruka.
- Michael II … Nicholas II, due to the circumstances, abdicated in favor of his brother. Mikhail II supported the morganatic marriages of the Romanovs with success. Countess Brasova became the legal wife of a member of the royal dynasty, which was the last straw of the august persons' patience.
These examples show that love is not subject to either the call of blue blood or public condemnation. If a man or woman from the highest strata of the nobility is ready to sacrifice much in the name of the chosen one, then this decision is worth a lot.
