First cousin marriage

[Sprinklewithsugar]

Trying to understand why this still happens in the UK between educated, intelligent people. Especially when the risks of genetic inbreeding are well known, not to mention the pressure it puts on the NHS.
Why do people opt to marry close cousins when there are surely other prospective spouses available?
Why do intelligent, educated people take part in such customs?
Genuinely curious.

@Legsninetynine , British royals no longer marry first cousins. The most recent example is Victoria and Albert. The practice too frequently results in horrible disabilities in the subsequent offspring and should be banned.

Aye, are they money, social isolation and keeping women in the service of the family?

I’ve wondered this too! From what I’ve read, it’s often more about culture and family expectations than education. In some communities, cousin marriage is the norm—it’s seen as safer, more trustworthy, and helps keep families close. Even educated people can feel pressure to follow that path. The genetic risks are real, but not always well explained or taken seriously if there’s a history of healthy outcomes. It is slowly changing though, with more awareness and genetic counselling.

The queen and Philip were first cousins.

That's a bit of a stretch that proves, if anything, that they haven't married first cousins for 2 centuries.
13th cousins? That probably makes half of mumsnet related to each other!

The people working in Bradford have had such success with the education program they are doing, that they advised law was unnecessary and would be counterproductive.
I was terribly concerned when I first learned about the issue- which is probably magnified here by the small size of the community. In a more populous community there would be a wider pool of eligible spouse, even in the same extended family.
Having heard the position of the people most directly involved in working to change it, I’m more inclined to trust their advice which is to rely on education. And the emancipation of women.

Third cousins. Both related to Victoria.

I’m sure you didn’t mean it to sound that way, but the way your post is written suggests that Pakistanis are not intelligent, educated people. Having worked in Islamabad for a while, I can assure you that there are many intelligent, educated, cultured people there.

@Bannedontherun , you are mistaken.

The occasional first cousin marriage in a family won't cause any issues. It's repeated marriages like this that cause genetic issues.

No, they were third cousins through Queen Victoria, and second cousins once removed through Christian IX of Denmark (Elizabeth’s great-great grandfather and Philip’s great-grandfather)

No they were not. They were third cousins. Both descended from Victoria but certainly by no stretch could they be described as first cousins.

My uncle married his first cousin. They fell in love and were married 70 years. They were also very sensible and adopted their two daughters, my cousins.

Familial pressure, cultural norms, financial reasons, not understanding basic genetics, putting more faith in gods than science....

When was the last time anyone in the royal family married their first cousin? Seriously

Just ban it. We ban sibling marraige for this reason, cousin is no different. Yes, some people might not have children, but there are enough people on the planet that banning close relations marrying is not a problem. It also protects people from the difficulties of family power dynamics etc leading to potential exploitation.

Stand corrected third cousins and second cousins once removed, just checked official royal tree.

This is one of the issues where it is an absolute no brainer to ban it. It just beggars belief that this is even being debated. I personally think it should be extended to second cousins but that would be very hard to police. Why has this not been enacted?

Yes. This thread is about first cousins.

Yes, I agree. It should be banned.

This makes me wonder how many people simply don't understand what a first cousin is. Maybe if we said 'don't marry any of the children of your mum or dad's brothers and sisters' it would be clearer.

You're not allowed to marry your first cousin in the RC Church. Technically, you can apply for a dispensation, but they would counsel against it. It is not looked on as favourable.

Yes, I do wonder if that's a problem.

They could be moving here and go in to have children that are disabled and demand free health care for them.

Ban first cousin marriages and make it a VK sitting that first cousin marrieds will be denied entry to the UK to come and live.