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The kings and queens of England may have murdered their closest kin to secure the throne, but they still stayed true to a basic rule of evolutionary biology. ?_d3|]N
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The history of Britain between the 14th and 16th centuries is full of epic tales of jealousy, intrigue and murder. To ensure their right to the throne remained unchallenged, members of the royal family frequently murdered their closest relatives. Both Henry IV and Henry VIII killed five cousins each. bO* hmDt
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John McCullough, an evolutionary biologist at Cambridge University, and his colleagues at Indiana State University felt sure the lure of the ultimate prize would force British monarchs to break free from the shackles of their own selfish genes. "It was kill or be killed," he says. Sq x'nXgO
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But to their surprise, the researchers found that despite the high death toll, the kings and queens of England all obeyed a golden theory of biology known as Hamilton's rule
