They did not have any children, Iemochi announced to let Yoshiyori TAYASU's son, Kamenosuke (later called Iesato TOKUGAWA) succeed to his position, however after Iemochi died, it was said that Kazunomiya mentioned, 'In this time, the young Kamenosuke may not be good enough as a successor, since there is no one to supervise Kamenosuke, we need to choose someone appropriate for the country.'
和宮と家茂の間に子はなく、家茂は田安慶頼の子亀之助（のちの徳川家達）に相続させることを表明していたが、家茂薨去後、和宮は「唯今の時勢、幼齢の亀之助にては如何あるべき、確かなる後見の人なくては協（かな）はざることなれば、然るべき人体を天下の為に選ぶべし」と語ったという。