I've recently been playing through the game again to remember some of its finer details for my fictional rendition of it, Into the Dream. As I played through the section of the game where Marle/Nadia vanishes in 600 A.D., I noticed something odd.
In most families, and in most cultures, male children carry the good name and heritage of the family through generations. Such is the case often with royalty as well, evident in the history of European monarchies such as England, France, and Spain. When no male child is born, the Queen is often throned, which may cause some sort of an uproar, or at least a general upsetting. And not to mention when no child or descendant exists, what havoc may occur! Such is not always the case, such as with Elizabeth I and other Tudor women, but if possible, a male is always crowned first.
To the point. Marle is a direct descendant of Queen Leene after 400 years, no? In 400 years, there were, what, 12 generations of the royal family? Now consider this: if Marle, or Marle's mother, is still on the throne, does the Guardian crown pass through the female child?
Not necessarily, but that is one of few possibilities. As near as I can tell, Guardia's inheritance is odd no matter what choice you pick:
1. The crown is given to the female descendant, and the kings marry into the family.
2. For 400 years, the crown has passed on to the male child, and after 400 years of breeding outside the royal family and royal genes, the Queen's heir has just now married back into the family. Although, this still allows for Marle to be genetically disturbed instead of it all just being teenage hormones.
3. The Queen marries her brother?! Ugh...
So, which possibility, or if you can support another, do you think is correct?
Personally, I choose number 1. It seems to me that Crono was marrying into the royal family, rather than Marle marrying into Crono's family. And if I'm not mistaken, weren't Crono and Marle mentioned as the last King and Queen at some point in Chrono Cross? I can't be sure, but even so, the former opinion still remains mine. This would present an interesting tidbit about Guardian culture, no?
Poll