Morganatic Marriage Law and Legal Definition
During the middle ages, marriages were common between men of superior status and women of inferior status, with the stipulation that the wives and children had no claims to the husbands’ titles or possessions or dignity.These type of marriages were called morganatic marriages. However, the wife and children were eligible for a certain allowance. Generally, the marriage ceremony was regularly performed and the union was for life. It was indissoluble in nature. The children had legitimacy but they lack the privilege of inheritance.
Later, this term referred to the marriage of a woman of superior status to a man of inferior status. The concept is now limited to royal marriages. Morganatic marriage is also termed as left-handed marriage, marriage of the left hand or salic marriage.
