Love and Incest: Famous Personalities Who Married Next of kin

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At all times, society condemned men and women who decided on closely related unions. In some cultures, incest was generally considered a crime. Meanwhile, such marriages happened all the time, because the lovers could not imagine their life without each other. This review presents famous historical figures whose chosen ones were their close relatives.

Edgar Poe and Virginia Klemm

American writer Edgar Allan Poe became famous not only for his detectives, but also for his scandalous personal life. At the age of 26, in the heat of resentment, he moved from his parents to his aunt Mrs. Klemm. The writer was inflamed with a passion for her 12-year-old daughter, his cousin Virginia.

Seeing the emotional throwing of her nephew, the aunt allowed them to marry, but on the condition that Edgar Poe would not touch his wife until she reached puberty. A few years later, family happiness came to an end: Virginia died of tuberculosis. Two years later, the inconsolable writer followed his beloved to the next world.

Igor Stravinsky and Ekaterina Nosenko

Igor Stravinsky is called one of the most talented composers of the twentieth century. He was friends with his cousin Ekaterina Nosenko from early childhood. Then the friendship grew into a deeper feeling. Stravinsky wanted to marry his beloved, but the Orthodox Church forbade this. In the end, the composer managed to persuade one priest, and in 1906 the couple got married.

Franklin Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt

American President Franklin Roosevelt put on a par with Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Under his leadership, the country emerged from the Great Depression and embarked on a course of rapid economic development.

Franklin Roosevelt married his relative Eleanor Roosevelt, who was the niece of another American president, Theodore Roosevelt. Franklin's mother reacted extremely negatively to such an alliance, but the lovers did not care. As time has shown, they have developed an excellent tandem not only in the family circle, but also in the political arena. Eleanor took an active part in governing the country, thereby realizing her own ambitions.

Charles Darwin and Emma Wedgwood

Renowned natural scientist and founder of the theory of evolution Charles Darwin married his cousin Emma Wedgwood. Ironically, the scientist experienced the principle of "the fittest survives" when he watched three of his ten children die. The rest of the offspring grew up very sickly. Darwin realized that the main reason for this was incest, and even wrote several scientific papers on this topic.

Christopher Milne and Leslie de Selincourt

Writer Alan Milne made his son the prototype for the fairytale boy Christopher Robin in children's stories about the adventures of Winnie the Pooh and his friends. In real life, the relationship between father and son was not very good. The boy was offended that the writer constantly did not have enough time for him. Over time, the situation worsened also because Christopher Milne decided to marry his cousin Leslie de Selincourt. The parents did not forgive this son, and the mother did not even speak to him for 15 years.

In 1956, Christopher Milne and his wife finally had their long-awaited daughter. Unfortunately, the girl was diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Queen Victoria and her cousin Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha

For representatives of royal blood, inbreeding (incest) was considered commonplace. Marriages with relatives were considered part of the political game. British Queen Victoria married her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. This union was one of the few in which love and understanding reigned. Victoria and Albert had nine children. When the queen's husband died, she wore mourning for him for the rest of her life.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

The now living Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have been married for almost 70 years. They also have to each other, albeit distant, but still relatives. The British Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are fourth cousins.

Be that as it may, but because of incest descendants usually suffer. Incest in the royal house of the Habsburgs eventually led to the degeneration of an entire dynasty.