FORBIDDEN MARRIAGE LAWS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

In England the list of forbidden marriages was drawn up by the Church of

England in 1560 and remained unchanged until the 20 thcentury. I have
reproduced the original list below. Because it is presented in a precise but
rather complicated way I have transformed the list into a more easily
understood form here .

En Inglaterra, la lista de los matrimonios prohibidos fue elaborado por

la Iglesia de Inglaterra en 1560 y permaneció sin cambios hasta el
siglo 20 º. He reproducido la lista original a continuación.

Table 22 List of Forbidden Marriages

[17]
F KINDRED AND AFFINITY

WHOSOEVER ARE RELATED ARE FORBIDDEN IN SCRIPTURE AND OUR LAWS TO MARRY TOGETHER

not marry his A Woman may not marry her

her 1 Grandfather
er's Wife 2 Grandmother's Husband
ndmother 3 Husband's Grandfather
ster 4 Father's Brother
ister 5 Mother's Brother
rother's Wife 6 Father's Sister's Husband
rother's Wife 7 Mother's Sister's Husband
her's Sister 8 Husband's Father's Brother
her's Sister 9 Husband's Mother's Brother
10 Father
her 11 Step-Father
other 12 Husband's Father
13 Son
aughter 14 Husband's Son
e 15 Daughter's Husband
16 Brother
ster 17 Husband's Brother
Wife 18 Sister's Husband
ughter 19 Son's Son
's Daughter 20 Daughter's Son
n's Wife 21 Son's Daughter's Husband
 's Son's Wife 22 Daughter's Daughter's Husband
n's Daughter 23 Husband's Son's Son
aughter's Daughter 24 Husband's Daughter's Son
Daughter 25 Brother's Son
Daughter 26 Sister's Son
Son's Wife 27 Brother's Daughter's Husband
on's Wife 28 Sister's Daughter's Husband
other's Daughter 29 Husband's Brother's Son
ster's Daughter 30 Husband's Sister's Son

Table 23 Simplified List of Forbidden Marriages - A Table of Kindred

and Affinity, (1560 list)

osoever are related are forbidden in scripture and our laws to marry together

not marry his A Woman may not marry her

her 1 Grandfather
dmother 2 Step-Grandfather
her-in-Law 3 Grandfather-in-Law
4-5 Uncle
Law 6-9 Uncle-in-Law
10 Father
her 11 Step-Father
n-Law 12 Father-in-Law
13 Son
ghter HIJASTRA 14 Step-Son
-in-Law 15 Son-in-Law
16 Brother
-in-Law 17-18 Brother-in-Law
daughter 19-20 Grandson
daughter-in-Law 21-22 Grandson-in-Law
Granddaughter 23-24 Step-Grandson
25-26 Nephew
-in-Law 27-30 Nephew-in-Law

No cousins are mentioned, which is surprising since double first cousins

(first degree and normal) are equivalent in their relationships to full and half
sibs respectively. Also, half sibs are not mentioned, but I think the inclusion
of half sibs is implicit in the general terms 'brother' or 'sister'.In the same
vein half uncles, half aunts, half nephews and half nieces are implicitly
 included with their full counterparts.This is made clearer in later lists where
half sibs are referred to specifically.

The full set of in-laws and step relatives are included to match the
equivalent blood relatives of the same name except the following:

Step-Sister Step-Brother
Step-Aunt Step-Uncle
Step-Niece Step-Nephew

It seems strange excluding step-brothers and step-sisters while including

step-sons and step-daughters. The first changes were made in 1907:

The 1907 Marriage Act removed no. 17 from the forbidden list (Wife's
sister and Husband's brother), provided the first spouse in each case was
deceased. Further changes followed in 1921, 1931 and 1949:

The 1921 Marriage Act removed no. 18 (Brother's wife and Sister's
husband) provided brother or sister in each case was deceased.

The 1931 Marriage Act removed 6, 7, 8 and 9 (Aunt-in-law and Uncle-in-

law) and 27, 28, 29 and 30 (Niece-in-law and Nephew-in-law), provided the
relevant Uncle, Aunt, Niece, and Nephew were dead.

The 1949 Marriage Act confirmed the previous 3 acts and specifically
included 'half blood' relatives.

Table 24 List of Forbidden Marriages (1949 version)

[18]
F KINDRED AND AFFINITY

HOSOEVER ARE RELATED ARE FORBIDDEN BY THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND TO MARRY TOGETHER

not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

1 Father
2 Son
ther 3 Father's Father
Mother 4 Mother's Father
ghter 5 Son's Son
s daughter 6 Daughter's son
7 Brother
aughter 8 Father's Son
aughter 9 Mother's Son
other 10 Husband's father
aughter 11 Husband's Son
Wife 12 Mother's Husband
e 13 Daughter's Husband
Father's Wife 14 Father's Mother's Husband
Father's Wife 15 Mother's Mother's Husband
ther's Mother 16 Husband's Father's Father
other's Mother 17 Husband's Mother's father
n's Daughter 18 Husband's Son's Son
aughter's Daughter 19 Husband's Daughter's Son
n's Wife 20 Son's Daughter's Husband
's Son's Wife 20 Daughter's Daughter's Husband
Sister 22 Father's Brother
Sister 23 Mother's Brother
Daughter 24 Brother's Son
Daughter 25 Sister's Son

Table 25 Simplified List of Forbidden Marriages (1949 version)

y not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

1 Father
2 Son
other 3-4 Grandfather
ughter 5-6 Grandson
7 Brother
er 8-9 Half Brother
n-Law 10 Father-in-Law
ghter 11 Step-Son
her 12 Step-Father
-in-Law 13 Son-in-Law
Grandmother 14-15 Step-Grandfather
mother-in-Law 16-17 Grandfather-in Law
Granddaughter 18-19 Step-Grandson
daughter-in-Law 20-21 Grandson-in-Law
and Half Aunt 22-23 Uncle and Half Uncle
and Half Niece 24-25 Nephew and Half Nephew

To emphasise that the ten 'in-law' relatives, removed from the above
list, could only marry the nominated person if all previous spouses were
dead, a second list was included:
 Table 26 In-laws Whom the Nominated Person Can Marry With the
Above Restrictions (1949 Act)

wife's sister 1. Deceased sister's husband

brother's wife 2. Deceased husband's brother
wife's brother's daughter 3. Deceased husband's brother's son
wife's sister's daughter 4. Deceased husband's sister's son
deceased son's wife 5. Brother's deceased daughter's husband
eceased son's wife 6. Sister's deceased daughter's husband
eceased brother's wife 7. Father's deceased sister's husband
deceased brother's wife 8. Mother's deceased sister's husband
wife's father's sister 9. Deceased husband's father's brother
d wife's mother's sister 10. Deceased husband's mother's brother

Table 27 Simplified Version of Table 26

-law 1-2 Brother-in-law

-law 3-6 Nephew-in-law
-law 7-10 Uncle-in-law

Current Regulations (1986)

Since 1949 there have been several further Marriage Acts culminating in the
1986 Act which brought the regulations up to date.

Blood Relatives

The following blood relatives are still forbidden to marry under all
circumstances:

Table 28 Blood Relatives Forbidden to Marry

A man may not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

Mother Father
Daughter Son
Grandmother Grandfather
Granddaughter Grandson
Sister Brother
Half Sister Half Brother
Aunt Uncle
Half Aunt Half Uncle
 A man may not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

Niece Nephew
Half Niece Half Nephew

In 1960 the restrictions on the in-law relatives mentioned in

tables 26 and 27 were removed. This means they are now free to marry
irrespective of whether the former spouse is dead. ie It allows divorcees in
this category to remarry.

The following in-laws can also marry without any restrictions, ie regardless
of whether or not their first spouses are still alive:

Table 29 Further In-laws Who Can Marry Without Restrictions

marry his: A woman can marry her:

wife's father's mother Former husband's father's

her-in-law) (Grandfather-in-law)
wife's mother's mother Former husband's mother's
her-in-law) (Grandfather-in-law)
son's former wife Son's daughter's former
hter-in-law) (Grandson-in-law)
son's former wife Daughter's daughter's former
hter-in-law) (Grandson-in-law)

The remaining step-relatives can now marry provided they are over
21. Also, the younger person must not have been treated as a child of the
older person's family and never, under the age of 18, lived under the same
roof as the older person.

Table 30 Step-relatives Who Can Marry With the Above Restrictions

marry his: A woman can marry her:

wife's daughter Former husband's

hter) (Step-son)
former wife Mother's former
er) (Step-father)
father's former wife Father's mother's former
mother) (Step-grandfather)
father's former wife Mother's mother's former
mother) (Step-grandfather)
wife's son's daughter Former husband's son's
daughter) (Step-grandson)
wife's daughter's daughter Former husband's daughter's
daughter) (Step-grandson)

The remaining in-laws can now also marry provided they are both over 21
and any former spouses must be deceased.

Table 31 In-laws Who Can Marry With the Above Restrictions

marry his: A woman can marry her:

wife's mother Former husband's

aw) (Father-in-law)
former wife Daughter's former
n-law) (Son-in-law)

A new forbidden category has now been added covering adopted children:

Table 32 Relatives by Adoption Who Are Forbidden to Marry

not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

other or former adoptive mother Adoptive father or former adoptive father

ughter or former adopted daughter Adopted son or former adopted son

Surprisingly marriage between unrelated adopted brothers and sisters (ie

adopted by the same adoptive parents) is allowed.

The marriage laws for Scotland and Northern Ireland are similar to England
and Wales except that Scotland also includes the following forbidden blood
relationships:

Table 33 Further Forbidden Marriages (Scotland

y not marry his: A woman may not marry her:

mother Great-grandfather
daughter Great-grandson

Comments on the 1986 Regulations

My criticism is that there are still no sensible rules about marriage between
'blood' relatives. The only logical way would be to fix an obligate level of
inbreeding beyond which it is not permissible to go. For example, if the
maximum coefficient of relationship between partners is fixed at 1/8, this
would limit the coefficient of inbreeding to 1/16 (6.25%). Marriages between
single first cousins would then still be allowed but not between double first
cousins. It would also allow unions between half uncle and half niece and
between half aunt and half nephew. If this was introduced the list of
forbidden marriages between'blood' relatives would then become:

Relationship R
Parent-child 1/2
Full Sib 1/2
Half Sib 1/4
Double First Cousins (first degree) 1/2
Double First Cousins 1/4
Grandparent-grandchild 1/4
Uncle-niece and Aunt-nephew 1/4

Also any other unusual cousin or other relationships with an R value of 1/4
or above (see enhanced relationships .)

These figures could only be used as a guide since previous inbreeding

(known or unknown), particularly in small closed populations could cause
nominally low relationships such as first cousin (R = 1/8) to rise above
1/4. In these special situations it would be necessary to have a genetically
qualified panel to assess the wisdom of certain marriages. The presence of
any known inherited abnormalities in a family would also have to be taken
into account.

Incest

Incest is defined by Martin (1990) as: ''Sexual intercourse between a man

and his mother, daughter, sister, half sister or granddaughter, or between a
woman over the age of 16 and her father, son, brother, half brother or
grandfather. Even if both partners consent, incest is a criminal offence if the
partners know of their relationship. It is punishable by up to 7 years
imprisonment (or, with a girl under 13, by a maximum sentence of life
imprisonment), but no prosecution can be brought without the consent of
the Director of Public Prosecutions.The relationships listed above include
illegitimate relationships. It is a statutory offence for a man to incite a girl to
have incestuous intercourse with him, but being under 16, she would not be
guilty of any crime if intercourse took place.''

Comments

Apart from religious constraints, the idea that incest laws should only
encompass members of the close family stems from the desire to protect
vulnerable children. From the biological point of view, however, all close
inbreeding is harmful and undesirable, even when it involves relatives
outside the nuclear family.

The above list excludes several relationships which are as close or even
closer, in terms of the coefficient of relationship , than those within it. The
following are some examples:
 • Grandmother-grandson. This is a sexist exclusion, since although
Grandfather-granddaughter incest is more likely to happen, when
Grandmother-grandson incest does occur it is just as serious.
• Uncle-niece and Aunt-nephew sexual unions are excluded even
though their coefficients of relationship are the same as between Half
sibs and Grandfather-granddaughter (R = 1/4).
• Double first cousins of both types (first degree and normal), with R
values equal to Full and Half sibs respectively, are also
excluded.Likewise any of the other unusual cousin relationships
described earlier, with coefficients of relationship of 1/4 or above. In
view of the severity of the punishment for statutory incest I think
these close cousin relationships should at least be included among
the list of forbidden marriages.

[18] 1955 edition of the Book of Common Prayer (Church of England)

[17] Taken from the 1908 edition of The Book of Common Prayer (Church of England)

TRADUCCION