Marrying a non-royal isn't a big deal for plenty of royals: Prince William married Kate Middleton, of course, and made her a duchess. Earlier this summer, former reality-TV star Sofia Hellqvist swapped vows with Sweden's Prince Carl Philip; she's now Princess Sofia of Sweden, Duchess of Varmland. And here are nine more non-royals who have married in to royalty. NBD.
But for Prince Amedeo of Belgium, it was a big deal. He and his now-wife, Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein—she goes by the much more low-key "Lili"—celebrated their one-year wedding anniversary this month. And the palace confirmed this week that because Prince Amedeo failed to obtain a royal decree for the marriage from the king, he effectively gave up his place in the succession.
Read more about Prince Amadeo and Lili's wedding here. (She's a writer!)
Granted, Prince Amedeo probably never would have been king. On his wedding day, he was sixth in line to the throne, currently held by King Philippe, after a host of the king's children. (Amedeo's mother is Princess Astrid, the king's sister, so he's a nephew of the king.) But the move was no oversight: According to The Times, "palace sources claim that the prince chose to deliberately give up his right to the throne so that he could live an independent life with wife Lili, free of any official role." The couple currently live in New York City.
The king did attended the wedding, but he never expressly gave his permission for the marriage. (If he had, according to the Daily Mail, the marriage would have been "officially gazetted in the Moniteur Belge with a decree giving 'dynastic authorization.'") So Lili doesn't get a royal title from her mother-in-law's side of the family, but she is now archduchess of Austria and princess of Hungary, titles that pass to her via father-in-law, Lorenz, the Archduke of Austria-Este. So not a bad consolation prize.
