What You Should Know Before Trying To Marry Your Way Into The Royal Family

Because the royal family is more ceremonial than political (read: they are really just rich public figures these days), anyone can marry into the family — while before, those spousal spots were reserved for other royalty. The only thing is, because you won’t share any DNA with a royal family member, you are not in succession for the throne. The closest you’ll get is if your significant other somehow ends up being the monarch. BUT, your children will automatically be in line because they’ll have royal blood. Fun.

The current succession to the throne looks like this:

1. Queen Elizabeth II (current monarch)
2. Prince Charles (Queen Elizabeth’s son)
3. Prince William (Prince Charles’ son)
4. Prince George (Prince William’s son)
5. Princess Charlotte (Prince William’s daughter)
6. Prince Harry (Prince Charles’ son)
7. Prince Andrew (Queen Elizabeth’s son)
8. Princess Beatrice (Prince Andrew’s daughter)
9. Princess Eugenie (Prince Andrew’s daughter)
10. Prince Edward (Queen Elizabeth’s son)
11. James, Viscount Severn (Prince Edward’s son)
12. Lady Louise Windsor (Prince Edward’s daughter)
13. Princess Anne (Queen Elizabeth’s daughter)

The list will keep changing as everyone’s families expand — so even though Princess Anne is Queen Elizabeth’s daughter and she was initially born third in line to the throne, as her brothers’ families continue to grow, so does her distance from the throne (the law, however, has changed in recent years and no longer prioritizes the male heirs in the family). When Prince William and Kate Middleton have their third baby next Spring, that child will push everyone ranked after Princess Charlotte down a spot, and etc.

If you’re interested, the two top single British royal family members are Prince Andrew (he’s divorced, seventh in line to the throne) and his daughter Princess Beatrice (eighth in line to the throne).

Another obstacle you have to overcome is getting the Queen’s permission, although the requirements to even getting to that point have loosened significantly over the years (members of the British royal family used to not be allowed to marry anyone who was divorced or Catholic). And technically only the first six in line to the throne need to consult the Queen first — but commoners definitely need permission to be married in.

Then there’s the titles. If a Queen marries a non-British royal or commoner, her husband will only hold the title of Prince, not King. So Queen Elizabeth married Prince Phillip when she was a Princess, and once she took over the throne, her title changed to Queen but Prince Phillip’s didn’t. This partly has to do with the fact that he is a descendant of Greek royalty, not British royalty. But, if a King marries a non-British royal or commoner, his wife will get to hold the title of Queen. This also explains why Kate Middleton is not called Princess Kate, but rather the Duchess of Cambridge — because she’s not royal (the same title will be given to Meghan Markle). But, when Prince William takes the throne, Kate Middleton will have the title of Queen.

Other Royal Families You Could Marry Into

There are 25 other monarchies you can marry into and three different types: monarchs who rule (families who have political power), monarchs who reign (like the British royal family), and then there are two elected monarchies (Malaysia and the Vatican — the latter might be a little impossible to marry into).

The countries with ruling royal families: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Swaziland, Brunei, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco.

The countries with royal families who have some political power, but also have an elected legislature: Monaco, Thailand, Liechtenstein, Tonga, Bhutan.

The countries with ceremonial royal families: Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Greenland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Lesotho, Cambodia, Japan.

Or You Can Just Buy Your Own Royal Title

Technically if you buy a title, you don’t necessarily have the legal rights or privileges that the royal family receives. But it’s still cool. You can get a title for as little as $50, although most lordships cost around $5,000. You’ll get a certificate in the mail. Although, a lot of people argue that the online business of buying royal titles are really fake. Shocker.

BUT you can genuinely buy a Scottish Feudal Barony title (cheapest one is $100,000). If you want to splurge a little more, your newfound title can come with a plot of Scottish land. And, again, the downside to this you really don’t get any other perks than bragging rights over you technically being a Scottish Baron.