Morganatische Ehe

A morganatic marriage refers to the union between a man and a woman of different social ranks. Throughout the past centuries, it typically involved a marriage between a man from a high noble family and a woman of either lower nobility or bourgeois origin. There are some well-known examples: Alexander of Hesse-Darmstadt, Ludwig, the brother of 'Sissi' in Bavaria, and Carol II of Romania. Today, most European heirs to the throne enter into morganatic marriages, as their wives are commoners. However, this no longer has any consequences today.