Sleeping With Your Late Wife’s Half-Sister
Was That Ever Appropriate?
I’m speaking of a different time in America; things were slightly different in 1772 than they are now. It was once common for European royalty to marry relatives, which often strengthened political alliances and kept the money in the families. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were first cousins, as were King George IV and Caroline of Brunswick. In more modern times, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were seventh cousins, and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are distant relations.
The gentleman in this story wasn’t royalty but was part of the American aristocracy. There is little question he loved his wife, though questions were raised about a possible affair with his best friend’s wife, with whom he corresponded for years before and after his wife’s death. The man and his wife (his third cousin) had a grand wedding on New Year’s Day at her father’s plantation near Williamsburg.
The couple had music in common; she played the piano, and he played the violin. He was building a new home at the time of their wedding and had a forte piano installed as a present to her. A visitor to their home remarked:
“You will find in his house an elegant Harpsichord Piano forte and some Violins. The latter he performs well upon himself, the former his Lady touches very…
