The late Prince Johan Friso also presents an unusual case, insofar as his marriage to Mabel Wisse-Smit was both legal and canonical, as he married in both civil and religious wedding ceremonies. But because he didn't receive parliamentary consent, the union is not dynastic. Still, nobody questions the legitimacy of his two daughters.
The children of Prince Augustus of Great Britain, Duke of Sussex (sixth son of King George III) were born to a religious marriage, insofar as their parents (their mother was Lady Augusta Murray) underwent a Church of England ceremony. But as the union was contracted in contravention to the 1772 Royal Marriages Act, they were deemed bastards for the purpose of succession. In fact, a strict interpretation of the law would have it that there was no legal marriage, period -- notwithstanding the fact that in the UK (as in Scandinavia and America), the clergy are authorized to perform marriages (civil ceremonies are not required by law).
Message Thread
« Back to index