10 Crazy Diseases And Mutations Caused By Actual Royal Inbreeding

Of all the things Game of Thronesgets wrong, probably one of the most important—yet elusive—ones is the actual effects of centuries-old inbreeding. Daenerysis supposed to be the product of an incestuous Targaryentradition that dates back generations, and though a big point of the show is that this practice has terrible psychological consequences, we're told the effects are almost nothing but a tendency to go mad at some point. And by mad we don't mean believing oneself to be made of glass—just plain-old evil I-want-everyone-to-diekind of mad. That's hardly realistic.

In fact, the actual diseases and defects brought about by royal inbreeding were much less subtle, and often far more physical. Any psychological issues tended to be accompanied by noticeable bodily deformities, all of which ultimately rendered the victim probably infertile and completely unable to function properly in day-to-day affairs. We don't really see that in the show's Targaryens. But we did see it in plenty of cases about real historical figures. Here are 10 crazy diseases and mutations caused by actual royal inbreeding.

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Habsburg jaw

Otherwise known as mandibular prognathism, there's a good reason why this particular condition is popularly called the Habsburg jaw. The House of Habsburg was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe, occupying the throne of the Holy Roman Empire continuously from 1438 to 1740, as well as ruling over several other kingdoms and empires, including Bohemia, Hungary, Croatia, Galicia, Portugal, the Netherlands, and the Spanish Empire.

But there was a problem. Their incredible status also drove them to constant incest, as they believed marriage should occur only between people of equal ranks and prestige. In all the centuries they ruled, inbreeding became the norm—and the later generations paid a steep price for it.

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One of the most recognizable features of the later family members was a distinct deformity: a genetic disorder where the lower jaw outgrew the upper, which resulted in an extended chin and a terrible crossbite. The feature is easy to appreciate in the family portraits.

Charles II of Spain, for example, is infamous for having one of the worst instances of this condition on record. His jaw was deformed to such an extent that he was utterly unable to chew, and his engorged tongue, hugely swollen and enlarged, made him drool continually. He was the result of over two centuries of inbreeding, and it was noticeable. He also suffered from hallucinations and convulsions. By the 18th century, the line was so deteriorated that it became infertile, which marked the literal extinction of the House of Habsburg in 1740.

Hemophilia

Queen Victoria. Via Reddit.Hemophilia (or haemophilia) is a rare bleeding disorder that prevents the blood from clotting, which means that its victims are prone to bleed out. Even minor bumps might result in internal hemorrhage and death. While hemophilia isn't necessarily a direct product of inbreeding, its rampant spread is. Since different monarchies carried the gene for hemophilia, royal intermarrying basically guaranteed that it would be passed on across royal lineages throughout Europe. That's why hemophilia became known as a disease of royalty.

It is said that Queen Victoriais among the political culprits for the spread of hemophilia. Though it wasn't she who popularized royal incest, she was particularly adept at securing marriages across the whole of Europe. Since she inherited the gene and developed the mutation herself, her line and intermarriage policy ensured that almost every royal corner of the Western world shared the condition. When Queen Victoria married her first cousin, who also carried the deadly gene, she unknowingly ensured that her descendants—who were numerous—suffered from hemophilia. One of her own children died from it, as did five of her grandchildren later on.

Skull deformations

Modern model of King Tutankhamun's head. Image by the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt, and National Geographic Society. 2005Ancient Egyptianswere also famous for interbreeding. If you look at the archaeological busts, a particular feature stands out: strange-looking heads due to having deformed skulls, strangely elongated in the back. This is not a matter of artisticliberty: the actual skulls found on many of Egypt's royal tombs feature this alien-like deformity.

As per custom, Egyptian brothers and sisters married often, as well as mothers and sons, cousins and cousins, and fathers and daughters. The Ptolemaic dynasty, to which Cleopatrabelonged, adopted this practice. The famous Egyptian queen probably married her own brother as a result.

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This rampant multi-generational inbreeding eventually produced the deformed skulls ancient Egyptian royalty is known for. Tutankhamun (or King Tut) is one of the most famous examples—in addition to a misshapen skull, he also suffered badly from a cleft palate, club feet, missing bones, and scoliosis.

Infertility

Many products of incest are ultimately inviable and often lead to miscarriages or stillbirths. Incestuous relationships are therefore commonly infertile ones. But dysfunctional reproductive systems are also a usual result of constant inbreeding, where pregnancy cannot even occur in the first place. The Spanish line of the House of Habsburg, for example, went extinct with the death of Charles the Bewitched (so called because many at the time believed that his many ailments were caused by witchcraft or a curse), who died childless. The physician who performed Charles' autopsy wrote that his body:

Cleft palate

A cleft palate happens whenever the roof of the mouth does not form fully, leaving the palate open to the sinus passage. Cleft palates make swallowing, chewing and breathing difficult and prone to all kinds of complications. It also affects speech. Here, King Tut is again the go-to example, as his remains show a clear cleft palate that must have made him sound rather distinctly.

Fused limbs

Whenever a particular mutation occurs in a population who interbreeds frequently, it's very likely that it will continue to appear and worsen as the generations procreate. This happened to the relatively isolated Vadoma tribe in Zimbabwe, which presents a strikingly high occurrence of fused limbs in their feet—making each foot look as if it had fewer fingers. This has earned them the nickname "the ostrich people."

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Scoliosis

Scoliosis is characterized by an abnormal curvature in the spine that inclines toward one side of the back, making people with the condition look hunched. Though scoliosis is fairly common outside of incest, inbreeding makes it significantly more likely to occur even if neither of the parents has it. This is due to gene similarity, which is an important factor for predicting the condition.

Cancer

Inbreeding increases the risk of getting certain kinds of cancers, threatening the longevity of any incestuous lineage. More specifically, inbred people are more likely to develop tumors. It is particularly difficult to know just how many royal members that were the product of incest suffered from the condition—many certainly died before the cancer got to them, and often cancer is a silent disease which ancient physicians didn't know much about, let alone how to diagnose. Still, new studies have shed light on the important relationship between inbreeding and tumor development, making it extremely probable that several monarchs in the past suffered from at least some form of cancer.

Madness

Here's where the incest depicted on Game of Thronesmight seem a bit more realistic… until you take a closer look. There were indeed historical cases of mad kings and queens whose psychological afflictions were probably due to inbreeding, but their madness was nothing like the Targaryens' purely psychotic tendencies.

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For example, Maria I of Portugal, literally known as the Mad Queen, became insane after losing two of her children, her son-in-law, and her grandson. She often suffered delusional fits and religious obsession, and constantly dressed like a little girl. All this made her dysfunctional and unable to actually rule, as she spent most of her time in seclusion. It is said her howling could be heard across the royal estate, and completely lost her grip on reality shortly after.

Charles VI, the Mad King of France, is another famous example of realistically insane kings. When he lost his mind, he could barely understand what was going on, let alone deliberately plan to murder people. At some point, his delusions were so intense that he truly believed he was made of glass and that he could break with the slightest touch.

Charles VI, the Mad King of FranceThis type of madness, likely product of European incestuous practices, is certainly not the kind that makes you a highly functional mass murderer like(spoiler!)Daenerys.

Immune system defects

It is very common for children born of incest to be extremely prone to disease. Their sickly dispositions can come from a variety of causes related to inbreeding: from cranial malformations to muscular defects. But one of the biggest health issues is far more subtle: defects of the immune system. A great advantage of genetic variation from regular, non-incestuous relationships is having a varied immune system capable of fighting a great array of diseases. The bigger the variation, the more diseases you can fight. Inbred children, though, don't have this advantage, which results in an inability to effectively combat many types of sickness.

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So, yeah. There is far more to intermarriage and incest than an increased risk of being a psychotic killer, and generations of inbreeding will reliably produce dramatic conditions, both psychological and physical.

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