Game news:Consorts
Marrying for love is not something royal or nobility can easily do, as marriages are considered to be political. On occasion a family head or matchmaker might factor in love but what they are looking for is the benefits a wedded match could provide. The desire for a ‘love match’ is what caused the creation of Consorts. Consorts are considered to be the second spouse and are treated as such, even if they do not bear the title given to the married spouse. A Consort and spouse showing up to events together, getting along, and both being on the arm of their partner would be more common than a consort and spouse who do not accept each other. Everyone goes into the relationship understanding the way it is. It is not surprising for a consort and spouse to handle family affairs tother, as they are considered equals in the eyes of the person they are with. Consorts are referred to by their appropriate title coupled with the form of address for a Consort.
No one /has/ to take a Consort, some never do. No person takes more than 1 Consort at a time, not even royalty. They can love many people but only one at a time can be granted the right to be a Consort, just as only 1 can be claimed as a spouse. This does not mean permanently as a Consort can pass on or be ‘divorced’ from the one they are with. Commoners are also free to take on Consorts, but they do not have to worry about political connections as much as nobility has too. Any commoner can take a consort but the one who is most likely to take one are members if the Clergy, Baronets, Sages, Knights, and Matchmakers. A commoner might not always understand why a Consort is important to nobility or those who take one, but they accept that one is important for the person who takes one.
All Consorts will have to form a contract with the noble they join with, just like it was a political marriage. Since nothing political needs to be worked into their contracts they are far less complex. The only 'complex' part would be which family the children would join, as in which family name they would take. When it is a noble or royal and commoner Consort relationship, it is not always directly sorted out in the contract because they often wait to decide until the child is grown so they can decide which parent's family they want to join. There is no clear-cut reason for the wait, as it depends on the couple and the noble or royal family they come from. Though, when it is the case that has titled nobles involved it is understood that the child will not inherit unless the marriage spouse can not have a child. After all, the political marriages are typically done so that a certain family can claim the title to be in their line. There can be other circumstances where a Consort's child can inherit but the lack of heir is the main one. People become Consorts out of love and devotion, so they aren't concerned, save for the more conniving types who think it could happen, about children inheriting and the political gains they get from the match. A note, unlike political marriages, Consort contracts are known by the couple involved and the clergy member witnessing the contract and MAYBE the family head should they need to know, as it is view as something very intimate due to it being about love and not politics. It is /always/ written into the contract that the Consort is given a living/expenses allowance, with more added should children be born from the union.