Photo credit: Bain News Service/Library of Congress
Even women from his own family were allowable, including cousins but not full sisters. Royal incest also occurred in the Fon kingdom of Dahomey (located in present-day Benin), where the king could mate with whichever woman took his fancy: single or married, foreign or native, free or slave. Only the king could partake in this exclusive kind of incest-nonroyal noblemen would have faced death if they tried it themselves. These special children could only become royal heirs because of their exclusively royal bloodline, having not been made impure by nonroyal unions.
His “main wives” were close relatives, often sisters or even daughters, and only their children could one day inherit the throne. In the long-gone empire of Monomotapa in Zimbabwe, one king had over 300 wives. The variety of examples from around the world may surprise you. Royals often married close family members to keep their bloodline pure and to protect the throne politically and economically.Ĭultural attitudes toward incestuous relationships vary more than one might imagine while one group may warn of supernatural repercussions to the act, another may see spiritual virtue and deem such relationships a form of worship. But it has often been practiced around the world throughout history. Incest, or sexual relationships between biologically close family members, is an idea that may make your skin crawl.