Illegitimate Child as Monarch

Could the illegitimate children of William IV have been made legitimate by law, or was that just not done in early 19th Century Britian?
 

Keenir

Banned
Could the illegitimate children of William IV have been made legitimate by law, or was that just not done in early 19th Century Britian?

if he had an army behind him, he could declare himself legitimate.

before he can lead an army, no idea.
 
Could the illegitimate children of William IV have been made legitimate by law, or was that just not done in early 19th Century Britian?

I suppose that it might be possible, legally speaking, but I doubt that the government would consider legitimizing the royal bastards unless they were faced with a very untenable line of succession.
 
Henry VIII contemplated doing this w/one of his illigitimate sons. Legally speaking, why couldn't William IV "legitimize" his children by Mrs. Jordan? Does anyone know whether or not he ever contemplated such a move?
 
Henry VIII contemplated doing this w/one of his illigitimate sons. Legally speaking, why couldn't William IV "legitimize" his children by Mrs. Jordan? Does anyone know whether or not he ever contemplated such a move?

I believe such a thing may require the assent of parliament, and I doubt that parliament would support that. Either way William IV was fairly unpopular and such a move would not have gone over well at all.
 
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Depending on your perspective several Tudors were illegitamate. Henry VIII came to believe that marrying his brother's widow or at least intended was contary to Biblical Law. If so Mary was illegimate.

Catholics believed that the Marriage to Catherine of Aragon was valid, that would make the marriage to Ann Boylinne (forgot spelling) invalid and therefore Elizabeth.


NB Henry did not Divorce in modern terms his first wife, rather he sought a nulity in modern terms.
 
Maybe if there was no Victoria, or Victoria died young? Without Victoria, William's heir would be his brother Ernest Augustus, who everybody hated. That might push William to legitimise his illegitimate children -- and he might not even be met with much protest.
 
If Victoria dies Young, William's children have to be legitamised as Ernest Augustus died before he did.

I'm not sure if they would need to use the illegitimate children of William IV. After all, even if Parliament do not aceept Ernest Augustus there would be the options of Adolphus and Augustus Frederick.
 
If Victoria dies young and they started running out of heirs maybe Parliament would consider in legitimising William's IV bastards...
Portuguese used that frequently when legitimate heirs were extinct...
 
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