D&D General A King with A Common Born wife has A 20 month old common born niece that he's very fond of, when the niece is orphaned could he adopt her?

[JMISBEST]

I'd say it would definitely be expected of the king that he looks after his extended family.

Even when his extended family are lower class commoners?

 

[Reef]

Even when his extended family are lower class commoners?

Sure, unless she was a hamster. Or would that still work? If she was a common-born hamster that had been previously adopted by the sister-in-law, would the king then be able to adopt said hamster? Is there anything in the constitution that prohibits hamster adoption?

 

[aco175]

The nieces parents are his wives Brother and Sister in Law

If the brother and sister are dead, then is is fine to adopt the girl since he is the king and she now his ward. She would likely be made into some sort of court person and live a decent if not good life. He might not adopt her as his daughter since that would have other problems with the nobles, but some sort of title that mean he looks after her, but she cannot inherit anything.

If the brother and sister are still alive then it is just cruel to take the girl and adopt her. There could be some sort of circumstance where the brother and sister give up their claim and girl, but commoners do not have much besides family and God.

Although the twist could be that the niece looks like his real daughter and he keeps her in hiding so if the real princess if killed or such he could bring out the doppelganger to keep the country running. Man in the Iron Mask, so to speak. In this case, the king would likely kill the real parents on the side so that his common wife does not find out- so he does not need to kill her off before he grows tired of her and replaces her with another commoner of much younger age. If only there were some adventurers to bust out the secret niece when she comes of age.

 

[Velderan]

If the wife is A Common Born, then yes. If she is merely a common born, then no. The extra capital letters allows her and her Family special privileges, not to be confused with her family or Privileges.

 

[Cordwainer Fish]

Decide for yourself.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

@JMISBEST, what is your goal with this question? This is not a rules questions and without a legal or historical framework to judge the case on it is purely subjective.

 

[Umbran]

Note that in Medieval and Renaissance times, "adoption" wasn't what it is today.

Broadly speaking, a noble could have any number of fosterlings or wards. Making sure the niece is cared for is easy.

Whether that child could be named heir to that noble line, which is closer to our modern idea of "adoption" - making the niece legally a child of the King, is another matter entirely, based solely on the laws of succession in the particular place. There is no general answer to that. Even if technically legal, suddenly putting a commoner in line for the throne would typically be... somewhere between controversial to grounds for a civil war, depending on the details of the political situation.

It also may not be good for the girl - because if she's made heir, every noble family with a bachelor son would be seeking to marry the girl into their family, so their son would be king...

 

[bedir than]

What answer fits the D&D campaign best?

That's your answer.

There's a lot of ahistorical stuff in D&D, so ignore reality and tell your D&D tale

 

[JMISBEST]

Note that in Medieval and Renaissance times, "adoption" wasn't what it is today.

Broadly speaking, a noble could have any number of fosterlings or wards. Making sure the niece is cared for is easy.

Whether that child could be named heir to that noble line is another matter entirely, based solely on the laws of succession in the particular place. There is no general answer to that. Even if technically legal, suddenly putting a commoner in line for the throne would typically be... somewhere between controversial to grounds for a civil war, depending on the details of the political situation.

It also may not be good for the girl - because if she's made heir, every noble family with a bachelor son would be seeking to marry the girl into their family, so their son would be king...

She can't be named heir to the throne, that's why when she's old enough The King/her uncle by marriage, plans to marry her to A Noble that is willing to marry someone that despite being A Commoner is related to The King by marriage

 

[JMISBEST]

A thought. Would A Commoner that's related to A King by marriage, is related by blood to The Kings common born wife, was The Kings ward for most of her life and spend most of her life in the royal palace be a suitable wife for A Earl or even A Count? or would she only(?) be a suitable match for A Baron or A Viscount