Men who gained title or rank via marriage

I have read where a male assumed the rank of his wife upon marriage or
during the marriage. In a few instances, this included taking the
surname of his wife. Who can cite specific instances where this
occurred. Sure wish I had those old history books from university!

Julie Handsacre

Stephen Stillwell / Tom Wilding...

HSH Henry of Battenberg was promoted to HRH upon his marriage to HRH
Beatrice of UKGBI.

HSH Maximilian of Leuchtenberg was promoted to HIH on his marriage to the
Grand Duchess Maria. The children became Prince / Princess Romanowsky.

HRH Pedro of Portugal became King on his marriage to his niece HM Maria of
Portugal.

HRH Ferdinand of SCG became King on his marriage to HM Maria II of Portugal.

Jacques de Matignon became HSH Prince of Monaco upon his marriage to HSH
Louise Hipplyte.

Comte Pierre de Polignac became HSH Prince of Monaco upon his marriage to
HSH Charlotte.

Do any of this work for you?

Uwe...

One could add Heinrich, Bernhard and Claus, all three "HRH Prince of the
Netherlands", when marrying the repective heiresses to the Netherlands
throne. They did however not take the title or rank "King of the
Netherlands" when their wives acceeded.

Breton...

I would argue that the Duke of Edinburgh meets the criteria in your
header ("gained title or rank via marriage"). Prior to his marriage
Philip was a prince of Greece. Subsequent to his marriage to Princess
Elizabeth he became the second spouse in the land after Queen Elizabeth
(consort), and after that numero uno when Elizabeth (regnant) acceded.
He was also appointed as a Prince of the UK and as a Royal Duke,
neither of which would have happened had he not married Elizabeth. As
Prince Consort he is the first male in the land and in that sense one
could argue that he takes that position from his spouse. I don't think
that he took the surname of his wife though.

mjcar...

You are quite right. In the mediaeval period, it was the custom in
England (for instance) that an untitled man who married a peeress in
her own right took his wife's title upon marriage. For instance, Sir
John Oldcastle married Lady Cobham, and became known as Lord Cobham.
The legal doctrine was called "jure uxoris" - by right of the wife.

Candide...

Well if one follows the old English common law principle then in place
that all a woman had or was to receive became the exclusive property of
her husband (including the woman herself), then it is not too far a
stretch to see an untitled man assuming his wife's name.

In Scotland this extended further - two of the three husband's of Mary,
Queen of Scots, took the title King of Scots. There were degrees of
how much went with this assumption: her first husband was deemed full
King of Scots (the so-called Crown Matrimonial), while her second, Lord
Darnley, styled Henry, King of Scots, enjoyed it in a more titular
sense only - a cause of some contention in the marriage.

As Stephen has noted, other continental monarchies retained this

Hal S....

They're hiding so much, they're non-existent.

While you're at it, learn how to post. Even when you post your message with
its antecedent, is is so foolish it is almost impossible to decipher. When
you post without the message to which you're replying it IS impossible to
decipher.

Hal S.

concept until recent times, so the husband of Spain's last reigning
Queen, Isabella II, was styled King, as were the husbands of Portugal's
reigning Queens. It will be interesting to see what happens should the
daughter of the present Prince of the Asturias ascent the throne and

Uwe...

Or, probably much nearer to the present, when the heiress of Sweden
marries someone who is not Prince and HRH.

=?iso-8859-1?B?SmFuIEL2aG1l?=...

He won't acquire her status mby marriage, anyways. He might - but I'm
not sure that he actually will - become a Prince and an HRH, but that
will be by grace of the King, not byvirtue of marrying the Crown
Princess.

Jan B=F6hme

marry.

It was also not uncommon in the mediaeval period for a man who married
a great heiress to take his wife's surname in preference to his own.
An instance of this would be the Butler who married a Verdun heiress
and took her name.