If a queen dies and the King remarries, are her children considered illegitimate?

Question

I need help regarding the customs of Nobility during medieval times.

If a Queen dies and she previously has a child with the King, and that King remarries and has a child with his new queen, then is his first child claimed illegitimate so that the second may claim the throne? Is that a custom or a choice?

Also, if his second wife already has a child, then what is the ranking of that child? Could it have a claim to the throne?

Answer 1

When a widowed king (a king from any period in history) married for a second time, that wouldn't make the children from his first marriage illegitimate, any more than it would in an ordinary family. If he had a son from his first marriage, that son would continue to have seniority, being the eldest.



(I think you have got confused by watching 'The Tudors'. Henry VIII annulled his marriage to his first queen so he could marry again - it was the annulment that made his child by that marriage illegitimate, not his having married again.)



In the early Middle Ages, up to around the end of the 12th century the rule of 'primogeniture' (eldest son inheriting) was not yet fixed; a king could choose his heir from among his sons - e.g. Henry II of England who quarrelled with his sons Richard and Geoffrey and threatened to make his youngest son John his heir. But from the 13th century onwards, the law was: eldest son = heir, and there was nothing a king could do to change that.



If the second wife already had a child, that child's rank would be the rank it had inherited from its own father. It would not be royal and would have no claim on the throne, at an period in history. An example from the Middle Ages is Elizabeth Woodville, who was a widow with two sons when she married Edward IV of England. There was no question of either of the two boys being considered royal (any more than Camilla Parker-Bowles' children are considered royal today).

Answer 2

- In medieval times:



- If a Queen dies and she previously has a child with the King, and that King remarries and has a child with his new queen, then is his first child claimed illegitimate so that the second may claim the throne?



No. The mother of the child does not matter, just the order of their birth. Therefore, given that both children were sons, the son of the deceased Queen would be first in the succession line, followed by the sons from the second Queen.



You may have been influenced by the example of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. However, their wedding was annulled due to "incest", since she was previously married to his brother.





- Also, if his second wife already has a child, then what is the ranking of that child? Could it have a claim to the throne?



The children could only receive titles by their biological father. Therefore, the child from a previous marriage would bare the titles of his/her father, and not his/her royal stepfather. That means that it would not have any claims to the throne. However, the King may chose to grand a title, at the request of his new wife.





A some-how related example is that of Isabella of Angouleme, wife of King John of England. After she gave birth to a son, John died and she re-married. She had a lot of children with her second husband and those were given titles and fortunes by their half-brother, that had inherited the throne. However, they were not in line to the throne.

Answer 3

It may have happened in the past - Henry VIII but remember that King made up the rules as he went along. Fact is the first born of a King, or Queen if he/she is the legitimate KIng/Queen would always be legitimate, AND the heir to the Throne. Regardless of any further issue.

Answer 4

This happened with Henry VIII. His daughter Elizabeth was declared illegitimate, but later became Queen herself. It was due to the fact that Henry wanted a male heir so he accused Queen Catherine of having consummated her previous marriage to his brother Arthur, a claim she denied.



The children of a woman who marries a King have no claim to the throne whatsoever. Camilla Parker-Bowles has two children from her first marriage. They will have absolutely no claim or royal status once their mother becomes Queen (if she even does). Titles are derived from the monarch, not the monarch's spouse.

Answer 5

No. Legally married spouses' children are legitimate.

The new wife's children would be prince and princess.



Male children from the first marriage are first in succession, followed by new wife's and king's sons, then daughters from the first...

Answer 6

No, they are not considered illegitimate. They are just lower in line, since they are younger. Example: Henry VIII.

Answer 7

But they have changed the law to be more accommodating for females !