Blue bloods, it would appear, suffer from the annoying malady of degenerating DNA when your stock divides among itself only, so to speak. When you go all (insert cliched American South stereotype here involving being your own grandpa, but add trumpets and fox hunts) you tend to get some…issues.
Facial deformity in royal dynasty was linked to inbreeding, scientists confirm – Science Daily
Excerpt: from Science Daily
The “Habsburg jaw,” a facial condition of the Habsburg dynasty of Spanish and Austrian kings and their wives, can be attributed to inbreeding, according to new results published in the Annals of Human Biology.
The new study combined diagnosis of facial deformities using historical portraits with genetic analysis of the degree of relatedness to determine whether there was a direct link. The researchers also investigated the genetic basis of the relationship.
Generations of intermarriage secured the family’s influence across a European empire including Spain and Austria for more than 200 years but led to its demise when the final Habsburg monarch was unable to produce an heir. However, until now no studies have confirmed whether the distinct chin known as “Habsburg jaw” was a result of inbreeding.
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