Morganatic marriage

A morganatic marriage is a union between a high-ranking noble or royal and a person of lower social status, where the spouse and any children do not automatically receive the spouse's titles, privileges, or inheritance rights. This type of marriage was used historically to allow noble individuals to marry for love without changing their official rank or inheritance line. Essentially, it maintains the social hierarchy by limiting the spouse's and children’s legal claims to titles and estates associated with the noble’s rank.