Queen Camilla being related to Princess Diana is not the weird part
Sorry, what?!Did you know that Queen Camilla is actually related to King Charles’ ex-wife and mother to his two sons, Princess Diana?
But turns out that’s not the weirdest part about their relationship. Did you know that Queen Camilla and King Charles themselves are also related?
How is Queen Camilla related to Prince Diana?
Queen Camilla and Princess Diana are both widely believed to be descendants of King Charles II through illegitimate lines, making them distant cousins.
Two of Diana’s great-grandmothers, Adelaide Seymour and Rosalind Bingham, gave birth to two illegitimate children of King Charles II, Henry Fitzroy and Charles Lennox.
Meanwhile, Camilla’s great-grandmother, Alice Keppel, was a long-term mistress of King Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s son. Her great-great-great grandfather, Colonel William Coutts Keppel, was a descendent of Charles Lennox, making him sixth in the direct line of ascent from King Charles II.
The pair also share ancestry through the aristocratic Cavendish family. Both are descendants of Henry Cavendish, Duke of Newcastle.
Are Charles and Camilla related?
But the weirdness doesn’t stop there, as this also means that Queen Camilla and her husband, King Charles III, also shared family ties, even before tying the knot.
They can trace their common ancestors back to the 17th century, once again through Alice Keppel, Camilla’s great-grandmother, who was mistress to King Edward VII, Charles’ great-great-grandfather.
This makes King Charles and Queen Camilla ninth cousins once removed.
However, Charles and Camilla are far from the first royal couple to be related. It used to be fairly common for members of the royal family to marry their relatives, and was often even encouraged, as a means of strengthen political alliances or merging families with other royal bloodlines.
Queen Victoria and her beloved Prince Albert were famously first cousins, sharing the same grandfather. This marriage was also said to be encouraged by their uncle, who married his own first cousin.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was also related to her husband Prince Philip. They both shared Queen Victoria as a great-great-grandmother, Prince Philip through Princess Alice, Queen Victoria’s daughter and Queen Elizabeth through King Edward VII, Queen Victoria’s son. This made them distant cousins.
On top of this, they were also second cousins once removed through King Christian IX of Denmark.
And, if that wasn’t enough, the Prince and Princess of Wales are also distantly related! Kate Middleton is the 14th cousin of Prince William’s late mother, Princess Diana, making William her 15th cousin, once removed.
Read More: Princess Diana’s ‘response’ to Kevin Costner wanting her to star in Hollywood film
So, what do you think of Queen Camilla, Princess Diana and King Charles being related? Leave us a comment on our Royal Insider Facebook page and let us know. We’d love to hear your thoughts!
