| In some cases of royal genealogy, it is hard to | | | | constant marriages and also remarriages, the |
| believe the claim. For example, some people claim | | | | royal genealogy took some very interesting turns, |
| to be descended from Charlemagne, King of the | | | | as was the case with King Henry VIII of England, |
| Franks, and Emperor of the West. He lived over | | | | the second monarch of the House of Tudor. He |
| 1200 years ago and many people could be related | | | | was married six times for Heavens sake. A |
| to him, but it would be a miracle if any records | | | | mnemonic for the fates of Henry's six wives to |
| had survived through fire, flood, worms, and the | | | | help remember what happened to them is |
| fury of the Vikings, the Black Plague, and | | | | "divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, |
| numerous wars to prove such a claim. But it's | | | | survived". |
| such fun to look into your family tree and see if | | | | Divergence In Bloodlines |
| there was any royalty involved. What makes it | | | | One more thing and this is important. Royal family |
| daunting is that many royals had so many titles | | | | genealogy resources shows that in the beginning |
| and names that it is hard to nail them down. | | | | because there were very few nobles with royal |
| Only Blue-Blooded Persons Need Apply | | | | blood, a certain amount of intermingling of the |
| The main reason why there is a lot of information | | | | bloodline had to take place, and thus any royal |
| available when it comes to royal genealogy is that | | | | genealogy that is undertaken will surely reveal |
| nobility and royalty had deep interest in their own | | | | divergence in blood lines which may then meet up |
| family trees and thus were much taken up with | | | | again a few generations later when two people |
| recording the genealogy of their members, | | | | with distant relations would come together and |
| because it was very important to know who in | | | | thus formed a new line of nobility. |
| fact was noble and who was not. In the beginning, | | | | In A Nutshell |
| royalty meant having blood that was superior | | | | Some royal family genealogy bloodlines are easy |
| (blue blood) and thus it became necessary to | | | | to trace while others become a tangled maze of |
| determine the exact role that nobles had to | | | | conflicting data that precludes the entry in a |
| perform so that the possibility of contaminating | | | | family tree. And you may not want to brag about |
| the bloodline would not arise. | | | | some European royalty with fancy pedigrees |
| I'm Henry VIII - I Am (Herman's Hermits) | | | | because there is a list a mile long of madness, |
| This led to generations of nobility experiencing | | | | congenital malformations, and debauchery in |
| problems related to congenital aspects and the | | | | every royal house in Europe, Not only that they |
| reason was that there were a number of genes | | | | were plagued by alcoholism, sadism, plain ugliness, |
| that were improperly formed and were being | | | | stupidity, and syphilis. They tried to keep the royal |
| passed from one generation to another just so | | | | line "pure" by inbreeding and the results were |
| there would be no dilution in the purity of the | | | | devastating. |
| bloodline. And, when this was coupled with | | | | |