Morganatic

mor·ga·nat·ic (môr'gə-năt'ĭk) pronunciation
adj.

Of or being a legal marriage between a person of royal or noble birth and a partner of lower rank, in which it is agreed that no titles or estates of the royal or noble partner are to be shared by the partner of inferior rank nor by any of the offspring of the marriage.

[New Latin morganāticus, from Medieval Latin (mātrimōnium ad) morganāticam, (marriage for the) morning-gift, of Germanic origin.]

mor'ga·nat'i·cal·ly adv.


Now you are probably asking why is it important to learn what Morganatic means? And the answer is that there is no real importance to it, at least from my standpoint, but with the recent news of
Parker Bowles in Line to Become Queen
it seemed worth mentioning as you never know when you might appear on Jeopardy.

"LONDON - Camilla Parker Bowles can become queen after all, despite earlier statements by Prince Charles that she will take a lesser title after marrying him, the government said Monday.

Replying to a question from a lawmaker, Constitutional Affairs Minister Christopher Leslie said in a written statement that the marriage of Charles and Parker Bowles would not be "morganatic" — in which the spouse of inferior status has no claim to the standing of the other.

"This is absolutely unequivocal that she automatically becomes queen when he becomes king," said Andrew Mackinlay, the lawmaker who raised the question.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs confirmed that interpretation, saying that legislation would be required to deny Parker Bowles the title of queen. Similar legislation apparently would be required in more than a dozen countries — such as Australia, Jamaica and Canada — in which the British sovereign is the head of state."

Truth be told every time I think of royalty I think of Mel Brooks' role in "History of the World." It is good to be the king.

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