14,000 royal weddings actually happening this year
While for many, two royal weddings may be enough for one year, new research into the genealogical make-up of the nation reveals that in fact an estimated 13,890 royal marriages will take place in England and Wales in 2011.
To celebrate these royal nuptials, the UK’s favourite family history website Ancestry.co.uk is making the UK marriage indexes, featuring more than 96.4 million records of historic marriages from 1837 to 2005, and The Royal Collection, detailing half a million people born into or descended from royalty, the peerage, nobility and the landed gentry FREE TO ACCESS from the 21st to the 30th April 2011.
The findings from the family history website were collated by comparing current marriage rates for England and Wales with the proportion of the population that can claim royal ancestry (four per cent).
A surge in weddings amongst common-folk is also likely as a result of William and Kate’s nuptials, with analysis of marriage records from the past 150 years revealing that the number of marriages taking place in the UK increases on average by four per cent in the year of a royal wedding.
This means the number of weddings happening this year is set increase to 241,467 – the highest number since 2005 and bucking the recent trend revealed by Office for National Statistics, which showed the number of marriages in 2009 had hit the lowest level since 1895.
It remains to be seen whether the marriage between Prince William and Kate Middleton has as big an influence on matrimony as the wedding between Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh in 1947. Their wedding saw the most significant royal influence on marriage rates over the past 150 years, with the number of weddings soaring by 35 per cent.
The wedding of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Philips saw a similar boom in marriages the year they were wed (34 per cent increase), whilst the number of nuptials also rose the year that Princess Diana married Prince Charles in 1981 (19 per cent increase).
But not all royal weddings had such a positive effect on society – the number of 'commoner marriages' actually decreased by 16 per cent (compared to the average) in 2005 when Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles. This trend was mirrored by other royal weddings, including Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly in 2008 and Prince Edward and Sophie in 1999.
Yet while the Oscar-winning portrayal by Colin Firth of King George VI in The King’s Speech has been enjoyed by millions today, it would seem George VI was less popular among his contemporaries, with his marriage in 1923 to Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, later known as The Queen Mother, causing marriage rates to drop by two per cent that year.
Ancestry.co.uk family historian Russell James comments: “Analysis of historic marriage records reveals that today isn’t the first time royal wedding fever has gripped the nation, with regal nuptials influencing marriage rates throughout the 20th century.
“To celebrate the royal wedding, Ancestry.co.uk has made more than 94.6 million records in the UK marriage indexes free to access for the next 10 days – so everyone can go online and uncover the love stories in their family's past.”
Top Tips for Tracing Your Royal Ancestry
1. Explore surnames: Cross-reference surnames in your family tree with those found in Burke’s Commoners and Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland, which form part of The Royal Collection featuring more than 50 publications detailing half a million people born into or descended from royalty, the peerage, nobility and the landed gentry and FREE to access for the next ten days until the 30th April 2011.
2. Seek out wealth: Look for evidence of wealthy ancestors. A high number of domestic staff listings on census records, property and businesses documented in wills and probate records and ancestors who were extensive travellers listed in immigration records travelling in First Class, are all signs people had money.
3. Investigate titles: Explore the age and origins of any ancestors with titles, which are listed in the census.
4. Look for places: If your family’s surname is also the name of a place – for example a town or a parish, it is possible they once owned significant property or had a title in the area.
5. Find the Normans: Many early Normans had direct royal connections, so if you can trace back this far you may be able to find a link to William the Conqueror, or investigate the meaning of your surname and any potential Norman link.
Top five royal weddings that increased marriage rates (1862 – present day)
1947: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip (35 per cent increase)
1973: Princess Anne and Mark Philips (34 per cent increase)
1937: King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson (20 per cent increase)
1956: Prince Rainier III of Monaco and Grace Kelly (18 per cent increase)
1981: Prince Charles and Diana (18 per cent increase)
Top five royal weddings that decreased marriage rates (1862 – present day)
1863: Prince of Wales (later Edward VII) and Princess of Denmark (41 per cent decrease)
1893: King George V (Duke of York) and Princess Mary of Teck (26 per cent decrease)
2008: Peter Phillips and Autumn Kelly (20 per cent decrease)
2005: Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (16 per cent decrease)
1999: Prince Edward and Sophie (11 per cent decrease)