posted
I wasn't saying it was unusual. Just that I'd never been aware of it.
The Plantagenets may have been French, but the British royal family had been French (well, Norse/French) since 1066.
And the Germans came into it long before the Windsors. After Queen Anne died in the early 1700s with no heirs, they passed the throne on to George I, a descendant of Charles I's sister who was married off into Germany. That's essentially the same dynasty on the throne today, though the name has changed a few times.
As Blackadder put it when told "I'm not a German spy. I'm as British as Queen Victoria.": "So, your father's German, you're half-German, and you married a German?"
Registered: Mar 1999
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posted
"Or was it the Netherlands?"
The Dutch royalty has German ties, yes (that is to say, they ARE). Their last queen (Juliana, deceased) married a German jurist (prince Bernard), and had four kiddies. She was succeeded by one of them, Beatrix, who married ANOTHER German (a diplomat this time, Claus, who's also deceased) and had three kiddies herself, two of whom are still in line for the thrown. You do the math. B)
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Registered: Nov 1999
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posted
I notice the Danish Crown prince (I think Danish anyway) has just married an Australian.
And we got William and Mary from the Netherlands after the Glorious Revolution. So really, the various royal families come from all over the place.
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
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William and Mary weren't "from the Netherlands", exactly. Mary was the elder daughter of James II. She'd married William, who was Dutch. The only reason he got to be co-ruler was because, otherwise, he'd lose all his power if Mary died before him. And, since he had just driven the old king out, the people were more willing to do what he asked.
Registered: Mar 1999
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