Traitorfish
The Tighnahulish Kid
Yes, over the course of the Medieval period, European monarchs and their heirs develop a strong preference for consorts of royal blood, and from about the 16th century onwards this becomes an almost exclusive pattern. France follows this pretty closesly: every single Bourbon monarch took a royal wife, and the earlier Capetian houses show a strong preference in that direction.Possibly. I'm not even sure I understand what you say as I have a very low level of knowledge about British royal History, my teaching being more focused on the French case. Are you saying that royals are only marrying with other royals? I thought some were picking husbands and spouses among the aristocracy in general.
Originally this represented a shift in the priorities of European monarchs from manging relations with major vassals to managing relations with external allies, but at some point it becomes a sort of taboo, with the result that almost every European royal in 1900 traces most of their ancestors to the same few hundred people circa 1500.