For as long as humans have existed, The Royal families have married their biological relatives to keep their bloodline pure. This practice all marrying a closed biological relative is known as inbreeding. While the idea of marrying a close relative seems just fine on paper, the effects can be quite profound.

Inbreeding can lead to mutations, diseases and defects in the posterity as reported by modern Biological Sciences. for this reason, there have been cases of mutation and defections in Royal families and the dynasties throughout the human history. This necessitates a closer look at those cases of mutations and defections within the Royals. Poignantly enough, historians are also of the view that inbreeding amongst the Royal families was a major cause behind World War I. All that being said, we has compiled a list of 16 royals who fell victim to inbreeding and as a result who were born defected and mutated.

King Charles II of Spain (Speech Disorder)

It is no myth that the Hapsburg Empire Was one of the most powerful empire in Europe. This signifies that the Hapsburg dynasty was at the pinnacle of power in Europe. The dynasty came into power around 13th century and went on to rule the area which now constitute Austria, Hungary amongst others. it was home to the holy Roman Empire as well.

In spite of all the power they enjoyed, the Hapsburg family fell victim to inbreeding please stop the effects of inbreeding were so permeating that it led to the fall of the family as well. To visualize the extent of inbreeding, let us tell you one important thing: Joanna de Castile appears approximately 14 times in the family tree. This over-inbreeding led to a trait developed in the Hapsburg which was the famous “Hapsburg Jawline”. Not to mention, they were marked by a relatively bigger tongue which was evident by a certain speech disorder amongst the members.

The Speech disorder was most evident in the King Charles II. Scientists have approximated the extent of his inbreeding which came out to be more than what is between the siblings. As a result, he possessed a big jawline and a fat tongue which posed a difficulty in speaking—so much that he could “barely speak” anything. Moreover, this inbreeding led to impotency in the King. When he died at the middle age of 39 years, he had no heir to claim the throne. The Hapsburg dynasty breathed its last when King Charles II breathed his last!

Joanna of Castile (Sleeping with a Corpse)

The next royal who fell victim to inbreeding and thus mutation is the Trastamaran Joanna of Castile. She was the older sibling of Catherine and came from a family, being royal and driven by their motif to keep their bloodline royal, which was engaged in inbreeding for centuries.Joanna, the Trastamaran lady who came from an excessively inbred family, tied the knot with a prince from another inbred family i.e. Habsburgs. The results were not very encouraging: During her early years and youth, she was known to be inquisitive and intelligent. When she entered into marriage with Philip, the prince of Holy Roman Empire, her demeanor and conduct changed drastically. Her mental health deteriorated further when she ascended to the throne because of her sibling’s death.

She could not find the prince reassuring: things went further downhill when she saw one of her husband’s mistresses and stabbed her to death.When Philip died, she was imprisoned by the longing for her beloved husband. She could not help but sleep with Philip’s corpse every night. Research speculates that due to inbreeding she was prone to mental issues which were surfaced followed by the trauma she experienced. Due to her unacceptable practice of sleeping with a corpse, she is infamously remembered as Joanna the Crazy as well.

Ferdinand I (Rolling around in a Trash bin)

Hydrocephaly, Seizures, Epilepsy and the trademark Hapsburg Jawline—these things characterized the life of one of the descendants of Joanna i.e. Ferdinand I. The Austrian was a Harrisburg, a son to double cousins, and was born with the condition of Hydrocephaly i.e. a condition in which there is water inside brain which inflicts severe damage to the tissues.

As Ferdinand approached his youth, he was declared an heir by the Emperor. Under his crown were the territories of Austro-Hungarian Empire, Bohemia, Venetian and Lombardy. Keeping in mind his defects, it is understandable that he did not rule directly, rather there were vice regents, etc. who did most of the works. One particular thing for which Ferdinand was famous was he liked to sit inside a trashcan  and roll around here and there. Notwithstanding his disabilities, he ruled for more than 18 years.

Queen Victoria (Christmas Diseases)

Let us take a trip down the memory lane: we are in 18-19^th century, there is Alexandra Romanov’s (the Tsarina) mother, Lord Mountbatten’s grandmother, Duke of Edinburgh’s great-grandmother. You might be thinking three different persons; yet, there was only one: the daughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Alice.

The Princess married her lover-cousin Prince Albert—thence came the inbreeding. Their children showed symptoms of Hemophilia. And with that, the condition spread all over the European continent as indicated above i.e. Russia, Britain, etc. Though the intensity of the diseases remained controllable for her, her posterity died because of this. This leads one to think that, for the condition to develop so dramatically, it had to come from above i.e. Queen Victoria, her mother. Therefore, there are speculations that she may have spread the Hemophilia or Christmas Diseases throughout Europe.

Alexei Romanov (Hemophilia and the death of the Empire)

Now you may have a fair idea of the Christmas Disease, or Royal Diseases. Let us take another victim of this: Alexei Nikolaevich Romanov, the son of Princess Alice. The son of Alexandra and Nicholas Romanov, the last House of Romanov was born in August 12, 1904. Alexei was the youngest of the Romanov children, the only son and was the heir to the throne of the Russian Empire. Alexei was born with Hemophilia which may have its roots in Queen Victoria. As he came of the age, the blood clotting only got worse which necessitated prompt diagnosis and treatment of the disease.

A rather controversial figure, Rasputin, was hired to treat Alexei’s fatal disease whilst the aristocrats and courtesans disapproved of that. While Rasputin continued the treatment, and while the parents thought that it was healing him, the Bolsheviks started to storm the palace in 1917. Consequently, the whole family was massacred.

Princess Victoria Melita (the “Royal” Headaches)

Although the Princess was a descendant of Queen Victoria, she remained safe from hemophilia unlike her other cousins who fell victim to the fatal disease. Nevertheless, she had acquired yet another condition by the virtue of inbreeding: the Royal Headaches.As per the Queen’s wish, Victoria Melita said the vows with her cousin the Grand Duke of Hesse. The two, however, could not live “happily ever after” because of their contradictory natures; Melita was a furious arguer; the Duke possessed a questionable character. When the Queen died, the couple separated.

Melita found her way back to her lover, namely Kirill Vladimirovich—yet another cousin. This cousin of the princess was also a cousin to Alexandra and Nicholas Romanov—don’t get confused! Think of Queen Victoria. It is all easy . . . sort of!The point is: while she did not have Hemophilia, she had those persistent migraine headaches.

King George (Err… The Blue Pee)

Just a history lesson: Queen Victoria belonged to the Hanover House. It was the same house from which King George (the one who succumbed to American Revolution) flourished. And the House of Hanover was known for its inbreeding practices and thus genetic mutations and defects in children—for instance, King George III who was a victim of Porphyria. The condition is a genetic one and is manifested by episodes of madness and also by a purple-blue-colored urine.

While the latter condition is not scientifically supported, the episodes of madness were quite evident in the King’s writings: there were instances when his sentences consisted over 400 words. During those bouts, he used to talk and not stop until foam came out of his mouth.To remedy this condition, it was speculated that he used to take gentian—a medicine known for making the urine turn blue! Bottom line is: the pitiful King lost the War of Independence because of his condition emanating from the inbreeding.

Maria the Mad (The so-called Royal Tantrums)

We are halfway there: on the eighth place of the 16 Royals who fell victim to Inbreeding is Maria the Mad—or, for her admirers, Maria the Pious. Such contradiction, wow! The Queen of Portugal came from a family who were religiously devoted to inbreeding like any other royal family at that time. Those who knew her were of the view that she had been extremely religious—to a point that she would scream and wail for the certainty of her damnation; she thought that her damnation is certain for she has committed sins.

When things went further out of hands, the royal physician of King George III was called. He attended the mad queen and, having diagnosed her, prescribed illogical treatments e.g. ice-bathing, relaxation, etc. Definitely enough, none worked and her shrieking and wailing continued to echo through the corridors of the Palace. As her condition went into tailspin, a vice regent was hired to see to the functions of the state. In 1816, she died in Brazil.

Elisabeth, the Austrian Empress (Depression and Anorexia)

Elisabeth was a daughter to double cousins i.e. inbreeding. When she came of the age, she married with her cousin as well. This is because she came from Wittelsbach family who were infamous for their inbreeding customs and thence the genetic anomalies in their off-springs.Howsoever beautiful and pretty Elisabeth may have been, she fell victim to inbreeding. Thus, she developed excessive depressive traits and even anorexia. The spectators would define her to be very much reserved, even timid and shy and over-nervous.

Only a handful of times she was seen eating something which led people to think that she had Anorexia. The speculations could further be strengthened by the fact that she used to exercise many a times a day.Due to this inbreeding, even her son showed defective traits. At a tender age, he killed himself which made the Empress go melancholic. She left her home, became a wanderer, only to be killed by a commoner in 1898.

King Ludwig II (the Mad King who was Deposed)

King Ludwig was yet another member of the Wittelsbachs, and a cousin of Elisabeth. While Elisabeth may have been depressed and anorexic, King Ludwig was so much mentally unstable that he left the reality for good. Ludwig followed in the footsteps of Marie Antoinette to build opulent palaces and estates which reflected the grandeur so much that they became a world in their own.

These traits were long entrenched in Ludwig’s mind. He possessed an imagination of an artist and even became a mentee of the famous composer Wagner. While he splashed money and coins to make his imagination come to life, Bavaria suffered. When the populace became impatient, they deposed him and he was, then, murdered.

King Tut (Cleft Palate; Elongated Skull)

We presume you might know what Consanguinity means. Well, I did not until I had to read through the scriptures. It is more or less related to inbreeding. Hey, Siri! What does Con..san..gui..nity mean?! Okay, well, Europe was not the origin of this practice; it was the ancient Egypt. According to mythology, Isis, the goddess, had a wedding with Osiris who was her brother. This was the first instance of inbreeding for the sole reason to keep the bloodline pure—as was a custom in medieval and 18-19^th century Europe as well. Thus, it became a custom for Pharaohs to indulge in inbreeding and consanguinity.

The famous king of Egyptian history, King Tutakhamen, was also born as a result of inbreeding. The scientific scrutinization of Tut’s mummy depict an elongated skull with cleft palate and a club foot. Moreover, the DNA results show a high degree of inbreeding which indicate that it was certainly an incest through which the King was born. And that he may have died because of necrosis and malaria because of the relatively lower immunity as a result of inbreeding. Nevertheless, he himself became yet another domino in the endless lineup as he himself indulged in incest. His children could not survive.

Cleopatra (Obesity . . .  Bummer!)

We have heard the chronicles of Cleopatra; how beautiful she was, how seductive she had been; and how he married Julius Caesar because of her immense beauty and seductive traits. Let us now disappoint you: She was not definitely as beautiful as shown; she may have been obese!Like their predecessors, Cleopatra’s parents were siblings. Not to mention, the famous queen also married her brother at the age of 18, and yet another marriage followed after some time.

Since incest was a custom in Egypt, she bore some significant marks which are characterized by inbreeding: reports suggest that she was obese as a result of inbreeding. It is also probable that this may have been because of the Egyptian diets which consisted heavily of bread and beer. However, studies suggest incest as a determining factor as well. Bottom line is: the actual Cleopatra was definitely not Elizabeth Taylor!

Princess Nahienaena (Stillborn Child; Banishment and Incest)

In case you don’t know, Nahienaena was the princess of Hawaii in 19^th century. And, she was a religious person as well. What she did, however, was to fall in love with her brother and continued that romantic relationship until they were married in the year 1825. Yet, having seen her as a devotee, the missionaries turned against her: she was banished from the aisles of the Church.

No matter how much she repented and asked for forgiveness, she was not taken back by the missionaries. Some time later, she became pregnant and gave birth to a stillborn child. Studies show a definite connection of this death to the prevalent practice of inbreeding amongst the royal family. She was, at last, taken back into the Church. In 1836, she died of natural causes.

King Rama V (Incest and 153 Wives)

King Chulalongkorn, commonly known as Rama the fifth, was the king of the territory which now constitute fair portion of Thailand. The family from which Rama came, like their counterparts, remained indulged in incest and inbreeding. Cousin marriages, etc. were rampant throughout the family history. Their kings had harems and many wives, concubines, mistresses, etc. who were, inarguably, biologically related. That is, the kings practiced, at times unknowingly, inbreeding.

However, unlike Hapsburg, Chakris remained fairly safe from the adverse and fatal effects of inbreeding. Yet, there was this king, King Rama V, who had . . . well, 153 wives and was a father to 77 children. Rama sent his children to the West for formal education, did all he could for his populace; yet, he was probably ashamed to openly show his 153 wives. That  is why, all his life, he only was shown with just one of those wives citing the Chakri tradition.

Nero (Insanity)

The legend of the Roman Emperor Nero is no best-kept secret amongst the historians. He is often cited as being the maddest of the kings of all times: while Rome burned and turned into ashes, he was found fiddling; not to mention he is said to have had sex with his mother.

The story surfaced when historians tried to understand the reasons behind Roman decline. Amongst many other was incest and inbreeding which resulted in genetic mutation and defections in posterity—worse so for the Roman Empire, in Emperors.

When Claudius and Agrippina married each other in a bid inspired by power politics, the couple gave birth to Nero. Because of the persistent inbreeding going back to centuries, Nero was born with mental disorders and such conditions. As he grew older, he became insane and the condition only worsened.

Caligula (The Bloodthirsty Emperor)

Nero is the most notorious; what follows him is the Roman Emperor Caligula. Caligula, like Nero, was a child who was borne out of inbreeding—thence, he developed certain genetic abnormalities.

When Caligula (aka Caesar) came to power, everything fell into disarray as he pushed for the fulfillment of his lust and madness. He went on a spree of torturing and executing individuals as he made the indicted’s parents watch those gruesome scenes. He went on to claim himself as the god. Impatient, and frustrated with all his insane acts, one of the commoners assassinated him. This was done by Stabbing him around 30 times.