Royal connections
Overview
This page illustrates the most obvious lines of descent from royalty to me, although there are of course many others. However, all the royals and aristocrats who I descend from had died well over 200 years before I was born, and all subsequent ancestors are humble people from North East Scotland. Even prior to the 18th century, I suspect that the vast majority of my ancestors were humble people, but data about them was generally not recorded. Thus, although there is a stark contrast between my known ancestors prior to the 18th century, who are mostly aristocratic or royal, and those since, who are all humble, the true picture is likely to be very different even allowing for the likelihood of a few more royal descents, some of which have been lost forever because the intermediate ancestors have not been recorded, and some of which might be hiding, waiting for me to discover them.
Most of the descents to John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne shown on this page are available via any number of books and websites. From that point, the descent to me is based on my father's research, but there is another branch to the current royal family, showing that I am an 8th cousin to Charles Windsor, Prince of Wales.
Although not part of the descents shown on this page, I also descend from other kings and queens including these.
- Possibly King William II, though I think it unlikely. See Trivia (Elizabeth of Gloucester).
- Emma of Normandy, who was queen to two different kings, via her daughter Godgifu Goda of England, the only one of her five children to produce an enduring line of descent.
- Almost certainly King Richard I, via his illegitimate daughter, who I discuss in Trivia (? of England).
- King Stephen, whose immediate descendants are French, is an ancestor of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster.
- King Alexander I "the fierce" of Scotland, who is an ancestor of mine via Scottish aristocracy.
- King William I of Scotland, also known as William the Lyon, whose daughters by his first wife are ancestors to millions of people including me. The king's second wife produced King Alexander II, who I descend from via his illegitimate daughter Marjory. This branch of the Scottish royal line effectively died with the king's son King Alexander III, who has no descendants alive today. Margaret, Maid of Norway, a granddaughter of King Alexander II, was nominated the successor, but when she was deemed old enough to travel from Norway, she died at sea.
- John De Baliol, who was briefly a Scottish king but abdicated after a couple of years, and whose descendants are mostly English. He is an ancestor of mine through Elizabeth Butler, Countess of Chesterfield, of whom more later.
- King Harold II, who famously lost the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is an ancestor of Béla III "Harmadik Béla", King of Hungary, who is listed in the middle of Table 7.
- King Offa of Mercia, famous for Offa's Dyke, is an ancestor of King Harold II as well as King Alfred the Great's wife.
- Queen Boudicca (or Boadicea) of the Iceni, who poisoned herself after defeat by the Romans.
- Brian Boru, the 175th High King of Ireland.
- Probably Old King Cole. Nobody is absolutely sure which king the song was written about, but his official name was Coel Hen. It appears that I descend from all the possible candidates, although I still need to research this more.
There are historical kings and queens who have no descendants alive today, quite apart from King Alexander III who I mentioned above, some of whom had famous spouses. Let's look at some of those first, along with some other royals who are not my ancestors, before looking at my descent from ancient kings.
Distant relatives: Nearest common ancestors to me
The table below features some entries for monarchs, mainly focusing on partners. It also includes Oliver Cromwell, who replaced the royal family as head of state for a few years.
There are two descents from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster to Catherine of Aragón. The shorter line is through his marriage to Constance of Castile, Duchess of Lancaster, but I only descend from her if Lady Elizabeth Stanhope is the daughter of King James II of England, King James VII of Scotland. For a look at the question of Lady Elizabeth Stanhope's paternity, see Trivia (Elizabeth Butler. Countess of Chesterfield); a possible royal line is to be found in Table 13. In that event, the parents of Catherine of Aragón would be our nearest common ancestors, since King James II of England, King James VII of Scotland descends from a sibling of Catherine. As I make no assumptions about the father of Lady Elizabeth Stanhope except that he is one of two men, that leaves John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his first wife, Blanche of Lancaster as my nearest common ancestors with Catherine of Aragón.
While John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset and Margaret Beauchamp are both ancestors of mine, they only had one child as a couple, that child being Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII, who might be my ancestor depending on the identity of Lady Elizabeth Stanhope's father. Margaret Beauchamp has more descendants through her previous marriage to Oliver St John, including me, while I descend from John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset via Tacine Beaufort, his illegitimate daughter.
The question of Lady Elizabeth Stanhope's father also affects my nearest common ancestor with King George VI. King James II of England, King James VII of Scotland would be our only nearest common ancestor if he were the father, since different partners are involved. Furthermore, my nearest common ancestors with Camilla Shand, Duchess of Cornwall, Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and Princess Diana would be King Charles I and his wife, who are the parents of King James II of England, King James VII of Scotland, because these women descend from King Charles II, while my nearest common ancestor with Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands would be King James VI of Scotland, King James I of England.
The name of King Malcolm II's only wife has not been recorded for posterity.
The descents from the two 1663 babies, John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Lady Elizabeth Stanhope, occupy Table 14.
My descent from ancient kings
In these tables, the green and white stripes are descents to me, the brown and white stripes might or might not be descents to me depending on you-know-what-by-now, while the pale red and white stripes are not descents to me. Green stripes can appear at the top or bottom of a table that otherwise doesn't contain any green stripes to indicate that I definitely descend from those individuals via other lines.
Although my ancestry can be traced back to royal families all over Europe, this page is limited to England starting in Table 2, Scotland starting in Table 3, France (plus Italy) starting in Table 1 and Hungary starting in Table 7, with a touch of Wales starting in Table 4 and Normandy starting in Table 8. All of these lines can be traced back to biblical times, specifically to Beli Mawr.
Table 1
We begin with a line from King Charlemagne to King Edward III of England, which descends via the Italian and French royal families. King Charlemagne is also an ancestor of King William the Conqueror and (maybe) Margaret of Wessex, Saint Margaret of Scotland among others.
This descent features King Robert II, "the Pious", of France, who is a grandfather of Matilda of Flanders, wife of King William the Conqueror.
Wikipedia protests that evidence for the parentage of Beatrice De Vermandois is lacking, but does not suggest alternatives. As the names and dates seem plausible, I therefore give the benefit of the doubt. There are so many other lines of descent from King Charlemagne that his overall legacy is not in doubt. However, this is the main line via the French royal family, although I may have another look to see if there is another line that I can use safely.
| King Alfred the Great married Ealhswith of Mercia | |
|---|---|
| King Edward "The Elder" | |
| King Edmund I | |
| King Edgar | |
| King AEthelred II the Unready | |
| King Edmund II | |
| Edward the Exile | |
| Margaret of Wessex, Saint Margaret of Scotland | |
The descent from Margaret of Wessex, Saint Margaret of Scotland continues in Table 5.
Table 3
| King Constantine I |
| King Donald II |
| King Malcolm I |
| King Kenneth II |
| King Malcolm II |
| Bethoc of Scotland |
| King Duncan I |
| King Malcolm III |
The descent from King Malcolm III continues in Table 5.
Table 4
I descend from Llywelyn the Great in many different ways, including some lines that descend from his marriage to Joan Plantagenet of England, Lady of Wales. However, the mother of King Robert the Bruce's first wife is an illegitimate daughter of Llywelyn the Great.
| Llywelyn the Great and an unknown mistress |
|---|
| Helen or Elen ferch Llywelyn |
| Isabella of Mar |
| Princess Marjorie Bruce of Scotland |
| King Malcolm III married Margaret of Wessex, Saint Margaret of Scotland | |
|---|---|
| King David I | Eadgith, Matilda of Scotland |
| Henry of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon | Matilda of England |
| David of Huntingdon, Earl of Huntingdon | |
| Isabel le Scot, Isobel of Huntingdon | |
| Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale | |
| Robert de Brus, 6th Lord of Annandale | |
| King Robert the Bruce | |
| Princess Marjorie Bruce of Scotland | |
The descent from Matilda of England continues in Table 8.
Table 6
The first three kings listed here are definitely my ancestors. The other four might be, or they might not.
| Princess Marjorie Bruce of Scotland married Walter Stewart, 6th high Steward of Scotland |
|---|
| King Robert II |
| King Robert III |
| King James I of Scotland |
| King James II |
| King James III |
| King James IV |
| King James V of Scotland |
The descent from King Robert II via the Lyon family continues in Table 11.
The descent from King James I of Scotland continues in Table 10.
The possible descent from King James V of Scotland continues in Table 13.
Table 7
This table provides another illustration of the international dimension to my distant ancestry. Most of the table is filled with men who were all kings or princes of Hungary. My line continues through several women who move around Europe for marriage, the last of them marrying King Edward III.
| Béla I married Ryksa Miciszlava |
|---|
| Géza I, King of Hungary |
| Almos, Duke of Croatia, Prince Álmos of Hungary |
| Béla II "Masodik Tak,", the blind King of Hungary |
| Géza II "Masodik Géza", King of Hungary |
| Béla III "Harmadik Béla", King of Hungary |
| Andras II, King of Hungary |
| Béla IV, King of Hungary |
| Stephen V, King of Hungary |
| Maria of Hungary |
| Margaret, Countess of Anjou |
| Jeanne De Valois |
| Philippa D' Avesnes |
| John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster |
The descent from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster continues in Table 9.
Another possible royal descent from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster continues in Table 13.
Table 8
| King William the Conqueror married Matilda of Flanders |
|---|
| King Henry I |
| Matilda of England |
| King Henry II |
| King John |
| King Henry III |
| King Edward I |
| King Edward II |
| King Edward III |
Table 9
| King Edward III married Philippa d'Avesnes |
|---|
| John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster |
| John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset |
| Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scots |
Table 10
Apart from the final descent to me, I think this table contains the least known descent featured on this page. If you need information about other descents that aren't here, perhaps because of curiosity about the kings listed near the top of the page without their lines of descents, or the nearest common ancestors that I mention elsewhere in this blog, I can direct you to the source if I can remember it and if it is still there.
This table features members of Clan Keith. More about this clan in the notes ahead of the following table.
| King James I of Scotland married Joan Beaufort |
|---|
| Joan Stewart, Countess of Morton |
| Janet Douglas |
| Mariota Erskine |
| William Keith, 2nd Earl Marischal |
| Robert Keith, Master of Marischal |
| Jean Keith |
| John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis |
The descent from John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis, continues in Table 12.
Table 11
This table features Princess Joanna, who had three husbands. Her first husband, John De Keith, only lived to be 24 or 25, but they had one son together. I saw a website claiming that John De Keith is an ancestor of Isabella Keith, who is in turn both my ancestor via my mother and the paternal grandmother of Robert Burns. This certainly sounds plausible, but I have not seen the line of descent. If correct, it would confirm my belief that my mother has royal ancestors. Sadly, the website is no longer available to the public, but other websites appear to confirm the information in genreal terms by claiming that Isabella Keith descended from the Keiths of Marischal (who were popular with the Scottish royal family in those days) without giving any names.
Princess Joanna's second husband was Sir John Lyon. Together they had one son and thus began the Lyon / Bowes-Lyon dynasty, which has a branch that descends to me via my father. The line is listed in this table, the following table and the final table.
Princess Joanna's third husband was James Sandilands, 2nd Laird of Calder. Together, they had a daughter and a son. As far as I know, I carry no Sandilands blood, but can't rule out the possibility.
| King Robert II married Elizabeth Mure |
|---|
| Jean (or Johanna?) Stewart, Princess Joanna of Scotland |
| Sir John Lyon |
| Patrick Lyon, 1st Lord Glamis |
| John Lyon, 3rd Lord Glamis |
| John Lyon, 4th Lord Glamis |
| John Lyon, 6th Lord Glamis |
| John Lyon, 7th Lord Glamis |
| John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis |
Table 12
| John Lyon, 8th Lord Glamis, married Elizabeth Abernethy |
|---|
| Patrick Lyon, 1st Earl of Kinghorne |
| John Lyon, 2nd Earl of Kinghorne |
| Patrick Lyon, 3rd Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne |
| John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne |
The descent from John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne continues in Table 14.
Table 13
Here, I show the possible descent from John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster to Lady Elizabeth Stanhope via royalty.
Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland is an ancestor of mine via John Guise of Sandford, whether or not she is an ancestor of Lady Elizabeth Stanhope.
| John of Gaunt eventually married Katherine Swynford (née Röet) |
|---|
| Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland |
| Cecily Neville, Duchess of York |
| King Edward IV |
| Elizabeth of York |
| King Henry VII |
| Margaret Tudor |
| King James V of Scotland |
| Mary Queen of Scots |
| King James VI of Scotland, King James I of England |
| King Charles I |
| King James II of England, King James VII of Scotland |
| Lady Elizabeth Stanhope |
Table 14
We now come to the parting of the ways. The two 1663 babies, John Lyon, 4th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Lady Elizabeth Stanhope get married and have eleven children, only some of whom live to be adults. One of their daughters marries a commoner, albeit one with aristocratic great-grandparents, and they have five children together, to add to the five that he had by his first marriage and one by his second marriage. The youngest of the eleven is my ancestor.
Meanwhile, a son of the 1663 babies sustains the aristocratic line, which continues into the new millennium. I think they are now up to the 18th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne. Along the way, the 9th earl marries Miss Bowes and thereafter the main family is no longer known as the Lyon family. The 14th earl does even better. He and his wife raise a large family and one of their daughters marries into the royal family. She only expects to be a minor royal because her husband's elder brother is heir to the throne, but things don't work out as she expects.
| John Lyon married Lady Elizabeth Stanhope | ||
|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Lyon | Thomas Lyon 8th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne | |
| Mary Forbes | John Bowes (née Lyon) 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne | |
| Abraham Guise | Thomas Lyon-Bowes 11th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne | |
| Valentina Guise | Thomas Lyon-Bowes Lord Glamis | |
| Alexander Strachan | Claude Bowes-Lyon 13th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne | |
| Agnes Strachan | Claude Bowes-Lyon 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne | |
| Joseph Harris | Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother | |
| Harry Harris | Queen Elizabeth II | |
| Peter Durward Harris | Two of the four children who continue the descent | |
| End of the line | Charles Windsor Prince of Wales | Princess Anne |
| Prince William Duke of Cambridge | Zara Phillips | |
So ends the lines of descent to me from my royal ancestors, although my sisters have ensured that the line of descent from my parents will continue.
Plenty of mysteries remain
There are many aspects of my ancestry that remain mysterious, particularly on my mother's side, where no royal connection has been proved (but see notes for Table 11). It may be that I could solve some mysteries by subscribing to one of the ancestry websites. If I decide to spend money researching my ancestry, it won't be just to resolve one or two specific issues, but to resolve a lot of issues and to explore more generally. As things stand, I am content to explore my royal connections and to pick up whatever information I can about my humble ancestors.
My line ends with me
I have no children to claim the honor of being a 9th cousin of Prince William, Prince Harry, Zara Phillips and the rest, but my sisters all had children and those children have so far done more between them to continue the species than their famous 9th cousins have collectively done.
| Son, you are a bachelor boy |
| And that's the way you'll stay. |
| Son, you'll be a bachelor boy |
| Until your dying day. |
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