830
pages
ALL POSTSMary and Matthew. Cousins?
<p>I just started watching this show and just started the third season. Love the show, but why is it okay to marry a cousin? Robert and Matthew are 3rd cousins, once removed; but still. That means Robert and Matthews father were third cousins, hence the once removed. So I'm not sure if Mary and Matthew would be 3rd cousins twice removed, or if they aren't considered to be related. How far do you have to go before it's acceptable? 2nd, 3rd? I guess it's just weird because she calls him cousin Matthew.
</p>
(Edited by A Fandom user)
<p>Matthew and Mary were 3rd cousins, as I understand it. Yeah, it seems a bit weird today. But it was often okay to marry even your 1rst cousin back then. It was often a way for a group to keep all marriages within their own circle. Just look at Harald, the king of Norway. Not only did his parents just happen to be 1rst cousins, but so did his paternal grandparents <i>and</i> his maternal grandparents. Ouch...
</p>
(Edited by Furienna)
<p>Perfectly legal to marry your first cousins in those days, though the practice gradually declined in the late 19th/early 20th century (from 3.5-4.5 % in 1875 to under 1%). It is still not illegal in the UK or in the rest of Europe though it is uncommon outside of the Indian/Middle Eastern communities.
</p>
(Edited by A Fandom user)
<p>A little more distant, but Eleanor Roosevelt was a 5th cousin to FDR (as well as the niece of Teddy Roosevelt). Like Mary,with Matthew, she had no need to change her name upon marriage either.
</p>
(Edited by Ehj666)