Celebrity Genealogy      Research - My Family Ancestry

Discovering My Surprising Family Connection to Queen Elizabeth II

I was genuinely surprised to discover that Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, and I are related—a discovery that came about entirely by accident. Our connection is through multiple lines of her family. On her maternal side, Queen Elizabeth’s mother, The Queen Mother, is my 18th cousin, twice removed. Additionally, I discovered a second connection on her paternal side: through my paternal grandmother and Queen Elizabeth’s paternal lineage, we are 16th cousins, twice removed.

Our shared ancestry spans both the Norman line of English royalty (via the Queen Mother) and the German/Danish lineage of Queen Elizabeth’s paternal heritage. This means my connection to the Queen is rooted in both her British and continental European royal lines.

Given the breadth of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and reign, there is much that could be said—or very little, considering how extensively her life has already been documented. As the longest-reigning monarch in England’s history and one of the most recognizable figures worldwide, Queen Elizabeth dedicated her life to serving her people in the United Kingdom and across the Commonwealth, including Canada. Wherever I have traveled, Queen Elizabeth II has already been, and her presence is known globally.

Through this remarkable family connection, I am also related to the Queen’s children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. In an extraordinary coincidence, I am connected to the Royal Family through each of Queen Elizabeth’s daughters-in-law, including Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and even Princess Diana, the late wife of Prince Charles.

Despite these intriguing family ties, I don’t expect they will grant me any special privileges when visiting the Royal palaces in England. 

Perhaps one day, as history has shown, my extended family’s past interactions with the Royal Family may make such an introduction possible. Until then, it remains a fascinating and personal connection to one of the most iconic figures in modern history.