Child marriage is a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, between a child and an adult, or between a child and another child.
In 1533, 17-year-old Princess Emilia of Saxony was wed to George the Pious, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach, then aged 48 years. Early marriages have been common in historical times, including in Europe.
Presentation of Marie Antoinette to Dauphin Louis Auguste at Versailles, before their marriage – she was at age 15, he was 16 – on 16 May 1770
A traditional, formal presentation of the bride price at a Thai engagement ceremony
Depiction of bride kidnapping
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between them and their in-laws. It is nearly a cultural universal, but the definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions, and over time. Marriage becomes a social construct to adjudicate the conflicts of interest between consenting individuals and a transactional means to fulfill their needs. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual, are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing sexual activity. A marriage ceremony is called a wedding, while a private marriage is sometimes called an elopement.
Indian Hindu wedding with the bride and groom in traditional dress.
Chinese immigrant with his three wives and fourteen children, Cairns, 1904
A same-sex couple exchanging wedding vows in a Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
In an 1828 "Wife Wanted" advertisement, an Englishman claiming a "great taste for building" pledges to apply a prospective wife's dowry-like £1000+ to build property that will be "settled on her for life".