Every Person Who Married Into The Royal Family In The Last Century, Ranked
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Vote up the most inspiring figures to have married into the Royal House of Windsor.
- Photo: John Mathew Smith / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.0125,597 VOTES
- Born into one of the most storied aristocratic families in England in 1961 on the queen's own estate at Sandringham
- Married Prince Charles - the heir to the throne - in 1981 to great fanfare, but the marriage was a total disaster, and they divorced in 1996
- Became known as the "People's Princess" for her tireless devotion to charities and bringing attention to various causes - like landmines, AIDS, and homelessness - with her trademark warmth and style
- Died tragically in a car crash in Paris in 1997 at the age of 36
- Photo: Surtsicna / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0226,335 VOTES
- Was born in 1982 to a family that became millionaires through their party supply business and met Prince William when they went to University of St. Andrews together
- Their marriage at Westminster Abbey in April 2011 was a worldwide spectacle
- She is best known for her sense of style and has been credited for spearheading the Heads Together Campaign, a major mental health initiative from Kensington Palace
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- Was the daughter of a Scottish lord and spent her teenage years getting to know wounded WWI soldiers who were being nursed at her stately homes
- Married the future King George VI in 1923 - but only after she had refused his first marriage proposal to her
- Britain's darkest hours were some of her finest, and her strength led her husband and the nation through WWII
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- Has perhaps the humblest origins of any current Royal Family member: her father was a salesman and her mother was a secretary
- Had a successful career of her own in PR before marrying Prince Edward, the queen's youngest child, in 1999
- Despite working tirelessly at royal engagements, she does not stand on ceremony and is known to be low key
- Photo: Northern Ireland Office / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain522,077 VOTES
- Was born as a member of the Greek and Danish royal families in 1921 and spent his childhood in exile before becoming a British citizen during WWI
- Married Queen Elizabeth - who had a crush on Philip since she was 13 - in 1947
- Was a constant in his wife's life and reign, and the couple celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary in November 2017
- 69,295 VOTES
- Photo: edomapellimozzi / Instagram71,285 VOTES
Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi
- He is a British property developer and the founder and chief executive of Banda, a property development and interior design company.
- Married Princess Beatrice, the daughter of Prince Andrew, in 2020.
- The private wedding ceremony was kept small and there was little fanfare due to its occurrence in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Photo: Carfax2 / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0812,767 VOTES
- Was born in 1933 to an aristocratic family in England
- Married Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, grandson of King George V and cousin to Queen Elizabeth, in 1961
- Gave up her royal title and duties in 2002 and secretly taught music at a primary school for years as "Mrs. Kent"
- 910,776 VOTES
- Was born in 1901 to a family with pristine aristocratic pedigree
- Married Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, in 1935, thus becoming the daughter-in-law of King George V and sister-in-law to two kings
- Didn't get married until she was 34, because she wanted to see the world before getting tied down by marriage, and actually willed a significant portion of her money to members of her staff before passing at the ripe old age of 102 in 2004
- Photo: Bain / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain1011,832 VOTES
Alexander Ramsay
- Was the son of an earl who joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 and eventually served in WWI
- Married Princess Patricia of Connaught, granddaughter of Queen Victoria, in 1919
- It was 100% a love match: Princess Patricia - one of the most sought after brides in the United Kingdom - gave up her royal title to marry him, since he was a commoner
- 1111,053 VOTES
Angus Ogilvy
- Born into an aristocratic Scottish family in 1928
- Married Princess Alexandra of Kent, Queen Elizabeth's cousin through her grandfather King George V, in 1963
- Became the first in-law to refuse a royal peerage from the queen at the time of their wedding and was an understated, well liked, and attention-shy member of the royal family
- Photo: uploaded by MartinAustin1213,568 VOTES
- Is a McGill-educated commoner who was born in Montreal in 1978, thus becoming the first Canadian to marry into the British Royal Family
- Married Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne and eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II, in 2008
- Did not find out Peter Phillips was royalty until weeks into their relationship
- Photo: Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain1310,017 VOTES
Serena Armstrong-Jones, Viscountess Linley
- Was born into an aristocratic family in 1970
- Married David Armstrong-Jones - son of Princess Margaret, nephew of Queen Elizabeth, and grandson of King George VI - in 1993
- Seeks to avoid the spotlight and used to run her own fragrance store
- 1431,670 VOTES
- Born in 1981, she is a Northwestern-educated Hollywood actor who grew up in California
- Became engaged to Prince Harry, Prince Charles's second son, in November 2017; they were married on May 19, 2018
- She is the first biracial member of the Windsor family - a fact that was met with racist scrutiny in the British press - and is already receiving praise for her fashion and warm professionalism
- She is the first Duchess of Sussex
- 152,236 VOTES
Jack Brooksbank
- Like his wife Princess Eugenie, he can trace his lineage back to Thomas Coke, the second Earl of Leicester.
- The couple met in 2010 at Swiss ski resort Verbier, and Princess Eugenie thought he was wearing "a silly hat!'
- He's the brand ambassador of Casamigos Tequila, which was created by George Clooney, Rande Gerber, and Mike Meldman.
- Photo: Richard Gough / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain168,070 VOTES
- Was born in Denmark in 1946 and worked at the Danish Embassy in London before marrying into the British Royal Family
- Met Prince Richard, the Queen's cousin, at Cambridge (where he was an architecture student and she was attending finishing school), and the couple married in 1972
- Spends time working with arts and children's charities
- Photo: Mugisha Don de Dieu / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.01716,842 VOTES
- Born in London in 1959
- Had a whirlwind romance with Prince Andrew - Queen Elizabeth's second son/third child - before marrying him in 1986; they divorced in 1996 in the wake of very public scandals
- Remains close with Prince Andrew, much to the annoyance of some members of the Royal Family
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- Was born into royalty in 1906: her father was Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark and her mother was Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna, a Romanov cousin
- Became the daughter-in-law of King George V when she married Prince George, Duke of Kent, in 1934
- The Kinks named a song after her
- Photo: Geni197,144 VOTES
Marion Stein
- Born in Austria in 1926, her musical, Jewish family had to escape the Nazis in 1938 and settled in the United Kingdom, where she became a concert pianist
- Married George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood - and grandson of King George V through his daughter Princess Mary - in 1949
- Their marriage ended after Lord Harewood fathered a child with his Australian mistress; they divorced in 1967
- 2010,505 VOTES
- Was born in Yorkshire in 1978
- Had a successful career as a professional rugby player before marrying Zara Phillips - Princess Anne's daughter and Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter - in 2011
- Had his license suspended for drunk driving in 2009
- 216,428 VOTES
- Born into a successful theatrical family in 1957
- Married Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones - daughter of Princess Margaret, niece of Queen Elizabeth, and granddaughter of George VI - in 1994
- Shares his wife's love of the arts and was an actor before settling down with Lady Sarah
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Angela Lascelles
- Was born in 1919 and became a West End actor
- Married Gerald Lascelles - son of Princess Mary, grandson of King George V, and cousin of Queen Elizabeth - in 1952
- The couple divorced in 1978 after her husband had cheated on her
- Photo: English Photographer / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain2312,375 VOTES
- Was a sophisticated, twice-divorced American who hailed from Baltimore
- Married the former King Edward VIII in 1937
- Her love affair with Edward was downright scandalous and nearly brought down the monarchy - he chose love over duty and abdicated in December 1936
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- Was born a Welsh commoner in 1930 and had a robust career as a society photographer
- Married Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth's sister, in 1960; they divorced in 1978
- Fathered at least two children outside of his marriage
- Was committed to charities
- Photo: Hans Peters / Anefo / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.0 nl258,116 VOTES
- Was born in England in 1948 and had a career in the cavalry
- Married Princess Anne in 1973, making it the first wedding of any of Queen Elizabeth's children
- He won gold in horse riding at the 1972 Munich Olympics
- Had an extramarital affair that resulted in an illegitimate child
- Divorced Princess Anne in 1992
- Photo: Dan Marsh / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 2.02618,653 VOTES
- Was born in London in 1947 to a wealthy family and was involved with Prince Charles before marrying her first husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, in 1973
- She had an affair with Prince Charles while they were both married to other people, but they finally tied the knot in 2005
- Has overcome public loathing to become a respected, hard-working member of the royal family
- Photo: Bain News Service / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain275,542 VOTES
Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood
- Was born into a life of privilege in 1882 as the eldest son and heir of Lord Harewood
- Married Mary, Princess Royal, in 1922, making him the son-in-law of King George V and his wife Queen Mary - even if the bride may not have wanted to marry him at all and may have been pressured into accepting his proposal
- Before marrying the princess, he had pursued Vita Sackville-West, Virginia Woolf's lover; Woolf later used Lascelles as an inspiration for her novel Orlando
- Photo: Allan Warren / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 3.02811,910 VOTES
- She was born a baroness in the Germanic Sudetenland in 1945 and her father was a Nazi
- She was a divorcée when she married Prince Michael - grandson of George V and cousin to Queen Elizabeth - in 1978
- She is a published author, having written both non-fiction and juicy historical fiction, but she has gotten into hot water for comments she has made in public, such as:
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Elizabeth Colvin Lascelles
- Was born a commoner
- Conducted an affair with Gerald Lascelles - son of Princess Mary, grandson of King George V, and cousin of Queen Elizabeth - while he was still married to his first wife, Angela; they had a love child in 1962 and then married in a civil ceremony in Vienna in 1978
- They made a home together in France
- Photo: Geni304,757 VOTES
- Australian-born violinist who began an affair with George Lascelles, Earl of Harewood, when he was married to another woman
- The couple began their affair after first randomly meeting at an airport in Milan
- Married Lord Harewood in 1967 - the second marriage for both of them - and became Queen Elizabeth's cousin by marriage