Please explain this phrase: "Charles descended from Joanna 14 times — 2x as

Question:OK this is about the Spanish King Charles II, who apparently was a descendant of his great-great-great-grandmother Joanna on both sides (i.e., his mom and dad). But how could he be said to be descended from her 12 other times as well. Its also said that the Hapsburg dynasts also married uncles with neices, this was the case with his father and mother. Does this have anything to do with it?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: OK this is about the Spanish King Charles II, who apparently was a descendant of his great-great-great-grandmother Joanna on both sides (i.e., his mom and dad). But how could he be said to be descended from her 12 other times as well. Its also said that the Hapsburg dynasts also married uncles with neices, this was the case with his father and mother. Does this have anything to do with it?

"Charles descended from Joanna 14 times — 2x as a great-g-g-son" would indicate that there is a direct parent-to-child-to-child relationship through two of Joanna's children.

The "further" would indicate descendants of Joanna who are cousins to Charles who married back into his direct parent-to-child line somewhere in the 4 generations between Joanna and Charles.

The uncle-marrying-niece only matters if they or their child is one of the cousins who married back into Charles' direct ancestral line.

It's called Pedigree collapse.

If he was also descended from any of her siblings, then she was his (great, etc.) aunt as well as his great, etc., grandmother. Since she was born in 1479 and he was born in 1661, it's amazing that there was TIME in those 182 years for him to have been descended from her in so many ways! However, since most of his ancestors had the same surname (Habsburg), it's possible!