Habsburg Inbreeding Raised Infant Mortality

During the Habsburgs' nearly 200-year reign of Spain, about 80% of Spanish infants survived childhood. The royal family fared far worse: only about 60% of Habsburg infants survived to age one, and only about 50% lived to age ten. Researchers linked the dynasty's unusually high infant and child mortality rates to generations of close intermarriage, which concentrated harmful genetic traits within the ruling family.

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