10 royal families riddled with incest (With Photos)

4: King Rama V

King Rama V is credited as a reform-minded ruler and talented diplomat who prevented Siam from colonial domination. He abolished slavery and overhauled Siam’s government, laying the foundation for Thailand as a modern state with accomplishments like the first public hospitals and rail systems. He was also accomplished in another way: fatherhood.

Tradition dictated a fruitful reign, which Chulalongkorn (as he was also known) apparently took seriously. He fathered 77 children with an estimated153 royal consorts, concubines, and wives. The role of queen was reserved for royal blood, and Chulalongkorn chose his four half-sisters as wives.

Despite the sheer number of children, the king installed Western tutors for all of them and sent numerous sons to college in Europe. He was also aware of how the outside world may have perceived his martial arrangement—but only in respect to its polygamy, not its incest. For this reason, the king reportedly only had himself formally portrayed with Queen Saovabha, as the rest of the women in his life were, in his words, merely “due to custom.”