Children of Camelot

Generation after generation, to be a Kennedy means everything from magic to tragic. In March 1975, in Paris, French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing presented a picture of himself with the late President John F. Kennedy to Caroline Kennedy, Maria Shriver, Timothy Shriver, and John F. Kennedy Jr.

On Nov. 4, 1972, R. Sargent Shriver was the Democratic vice presidential candidate, sitting with his sons, Mark, 8, left, and Anthony, 7, right. (At far, left, is Shriver's wife, Eunice Kennedy Shriver.) In 2002, Mark made an unsuccessful bid for U.S. Congress. Anthony founded Best Buddies International, a group that helps people with mental retardation with socialization and employment.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, Bobby Shriver, center, and Maria Shriver arrive at a benefit for the Natural Resources Defense Council, May 10, 2002, in Los Angeles. Maria, a former TV reporter, is married to former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

John F. Kennedy Jr. whispered in the ear of his wife, Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, as they arrived at a benefit for the Robin Hood Foundation Dec. 2, 1998. Less than a year later, they perished (along with Carolyn's sister, Lauren) in a private plane crash off Martha's Vineyard.

Rory Kennedy, second from right, and her fiance Mark Bailey, right, and other relatives walk across a private pier to the family compound at Hyannisport, Mass., while awaiting the outcome of the search for John F. Kennedy Jr.'s plane July 18, 1999. John had been flying to Hyannisport to attend the wedding of Rory, daughter of Ethel and Robert F. Kennedy.

But there have been happier wedding celebrations. Here, Doug Kennedy, son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, kisses his bride, Molly, Aug. 22, 1998, in Nantucket, Mass. Other Kennedy family members are, from left behind bride: brother Max Kennedy; uncle Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass.; brother Robert Kennedy Jr. (obscured); unidentified person (red hair); and brother Joe Kennedy. Second from left is sister Rory Kennedy.

Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy and Victoria Strauss Kennedy wave to the crowd shortly after getting married at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, in Philadelphia, July 13, 1991. The groom is the son of the late Robert F. Kennedy

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Kennedy pose with eight of their 11 children on the lawn of their home in McLean, Va., in this October 15, 1966 photo. From right: Kathleen, 15; Joseph, 14; Robert Jr, 13; David, 11; Mary Courtney, 10; Michael, 8; Kerry, 7; and Christopher, 3.

David Kennedy, the son of the late Sen. Robert Kennedy, is shown in a 1982 photo. David Kennedy died of a drug overdose in 1984.

Andrew Cuomo, son of former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, and Kerry Kennedy Cuomo, daughter of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, announced in 2003 that they were separating after 13 years of marriage. On Aug, 30, 1997, they posed with newborn daughter Michaela Andrea, and their 2-year-old twin daughters Cara Ethel, left, and Mariah Matilda at their McLean, Va., home.

Maryland gubernatorial candidate Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, right, gives Maryland eighth Congressional District candidate Mark Shriver a pat on the back while Maryland and D.C. AFL-CIO president Fred D. Mason, Jr., stands in the background, as the candidates receive the union's endorsement at its Maryland headquarters in Landover, Md., May 1, 2002. Townsend and Shriver both lost.

Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., celebrates after winning his second term in Congress Nov. 5, 1996, in Providence, R.I. Joining Kennedy on stage is his brother Ted Kennedy Jr., Ted's wife Kiki, and their daughter Kiley, 2.

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, D-R.I., left, walks with his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr., right, at the historic Slater Mill, along the Blackstone River in Pawtucket, R.I., Feb. 8, 1998.

Sen. Robert F. Kennedy watches election returns with his son Michael Kennedy, 10, at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on June 5, 1968, one hour before Kennedy was shot. Michael was killed at the age of 39 in a skiing accident during a family outing in Aspen, Colo., Dec. 31, 1997.

Joe Kennedy, top center, helps carry the casket of his brother, Michael Kennedy, after his funeral Mass in Centerville, Mass., Jan. 3, 1998. Michael's son, Michael Jr., center front, leads the procession with the help of Timothy Shriver, cousin of Michael Kennedy, lower left, and his uncles Robert Kennedy Jr., upper left, Stephen Kennedy Smith, upper right, and Douglas Kennedy, lower right.

Robert Kennedy Jr. enters the court in Norwalk, Conn., June 3, 2002, for the closing arguments in the Michael Skakel trial. Skakel, a Kennedy cousin, was on trial for the October 1975 murder of Martha Moxley. Kennedy's mother, Ethel Kennedy, is Skakel's aunt. Skakel was ultimately found guilty. He is serving 20 years to life in prison.

The U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith gets a warm embrace from her son, William Kennedy Smith, at her conferral of Irish citizenship by Irish President Mary McAleese in Dublin, July 25, 1998. William Kennedy Smith was accused in 1991 of committing rape. He was acquitted after a trial that was nationally televised.

Edward M. Kennedy Jr. walks with the aid of crutches as he leaves Georgetown Hospital in Washington, Nov. 30, 1973, accompanied by his parents, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, right, and Joan, left. The boy lost his leg to cancer.

Nearly eight years later, on Aug. 16, 1981, Ted Kennedy Jr. took a practice run on a special track for cross-country skiing as his father watched during Summer Festival for the disabled held on the Esplanade in Boston.

And the legacy continues with the children of Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg, the grandchildren of John and Jacqueline Kennedy: Daughters Rose Schlossberg and Tatiana Schlossberg, at left, and son Jack Schlossberg, at right. Here, they stand at the podium with their mother before the first session of day one of the Democratic National Convention on Au. 25, 2008, in Denver, Colo.