Talk:Prince Leopold Clement of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

A fact from Prince Leopold Clement of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 28 June 2013 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that Prince Leopold Clement's failure to marry his girlfriend led her to burn his face with acid and commit suicide after fatally wounding him?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2013/June. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Prince Leopold Clement of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

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Resign his commission?

The text says that "marrying Rybicka would have forced [Leopold] to resign his officer's commission." It does not explain why. Were officers of his rank forbidden to marry? Would being married to a commoner cause a demotion in royal rank that would keep him from serving in that regiment? Were newlyweds forbidden from serving in combat, which his regiment was about to enter? Inquiring minds want to know. --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 14:02, 28 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]

I am one of the inquiring minds, and I cannot answer your question. The source provides no explanation but appears to suggest that such a marriage would have been improper. I'll try asking at Wikipedia:Reference desk/Humanities. Surtsicna (talk) 15:47, 28 June 2013 (UTC)[reply]