The illegitimate sons and daughters of kings were usually kept a bit in the shadows. Even if they were the sovereigns' favorite children. However, the laws of succession - in most cases - did not allow bastards to the throne. And yet, there have been cases in history where children out of wedlock have worn the crown. And they were not a few!
King Sven II of Denmark took a Swedish princess as his wife in 1047. And his longtime “lady of the heart” didn't like it very much! So when the blond Queen Gyda soon died, almost no one doubted who was the indirect cause. Sven didn't bother to look for a new wife, because in troubled times he had enough to deal with neighbors and disgruntled vassals inside the kingdom. From time to time he had “wives” who gave him a total of nineteen children. And all of them, from the point of view of the church, were bastards.
After Sven II as many as five kings quickly replaced each other on the Danish throne. All were illegitimate children of the sovereign: Harald III, Knud IV, Olaf the First, Erik I and also Niels. By the way, the namesake of the boy who traveled with wild geese, occupied the throne for thirty years (which is a lot for that time!). And he was succeeded by his nephew, whose origin is also rather vague. An illegitimate boy?
Bastards on the Danish throne were not a surprising phenomenon, because in the eleventh to twelfth century the kingdom had a very different attitude to “formalized” marriage. It was considered desirable, but not so important. There was even a concept of “Danish marriage” - when a man and a woman solemnly informed their relatives and friends that from now on they live as one family. But there were no official ceremonies or church attendance.
The Danes brought their traditions to other lands as well. In the Duchy of Normandy, which was headed by Viking descendants, marriage was treated exactly as in Copenhagen. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, who managed to take over the English kingdom, was also a bastard. His birth father, Robert, was not married to his mother. But William married according to all the rules, and bequeathed to his children to do the same. Because the king of England was no longer guided by ancient Danish laws, but tried to act in accordance with the canons of the Roman Church. It is interesting that King Harold II, defeated by William, and his wife Edith Swan Neck did not marry - they lived “in the Danish way”.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, thought too long before marrying his longtime sweetheart, Bianca. He took this step when the beauty had only hours to live. Fulfilled the dying woman's last wish. That is why the three children of the Emperor and the beautiful Bianca did not hurry to recognize the legitimate heirs. They said they should have thought of it earlier! And although Frederick II declared that his son Manfred has all the rights of the scarlet-born offspring, the church did not agree with him. Manfred had to make a lot of effort to reign at least in Sicily (about the imperial crown was out of the question). But in 1266 the Frenchman Charles of Anjou came and defeated him.
The Portuguese in the fifteenth century had a difficult choice: either to proclaim João's bastard king or to give the state to the Castilian dynasty. They did not want to see strangers in Lisbon, the nobility was unequivocal - let their own rule. And the fact that “on one side of the prince” - so it is not terrible. In the end, the crown was put on João Avis, son of King Fernando I and a noble lady Teresa Lorenzo. To look more solid, the new sovereign took as his wife a real princess, Philippa of Lancaster. She gave him nine children. By the way, João turned out to be a good king, and went down in history as “João the Great”.
Female rulers, “princesses from one side”, also met in history. Margaret of Parma, daughter of Emperor Charles V, had a very humble origin on her mother's side: a maid! But Margaret was taken to the palace as a very young girl, brought up properly, gave her an excellent education, so that in 1559, her half-brother calmly gave her the Netherlands to manage. Knew that the young woman will cope with the five.
By the way, born in marriage, Queen Elizabeth I of England was also considered a bastard! Her own father, King Henry VIII, had declared the girl illegitimate. But when it was her turn to ascend the throne, this moment did not prevent her at all.
Russian Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was also born before her parents were married. Later, Peter I recognized the girl, she became known as “crowned”, but if she had a serious adult opponent with a better origin, she would not have become empress. However, fate favored Elizabeth Petrovna. After Anna Ioannovna the Russian people were offered the Braunschweig dynasty on the throne, and the position of Peter the Great's daughter was clearly stronger. And then we know: Elizabeth became Empress, then her nephew reigned for a short time, and after his wife, Catherine II. About which even in her lifetime willingly spread rumors, as if her father is a Russian nobleman Ivan Betskoi, and not the Duke of Anhalt-Zerbstsky. And so she, too, is illegitimate.
So bastards sometimes became kings and rulers. However, those who wanted to wear the crown, but could not, turned out to be still more.
