Madness, miscarriages and incest: Real-life royal families have seen it all throughout history

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Madness, miscarriages and incest: Real-life royal families have seen it all throughout history

The conversation

The Conversation

The Duke and Duchess of York with their daughters
The Duke and Duchess of York with their daughters, Anne (centre) and Mary (left) – later Queen Mary II and Queen Anne – painted by Peter Lely and Benedetto Gennari II, circa 1668–1685; Queen Anne gave birth to 18 children [Image: Wikimedia Commons public]

Events in fictional dramas often reflect happenings in real life, with royal history being filled with tales of ill-health and concerns about their dynasty, as discussed by Kristie Patricia Flannery and Sarah Bendall

Television show House of the Dragon chronicles the fall of the fictional Targaryen dynasty some two centuries before life on the continent of Westeros