Are Harry and Meghan Markle distant cousins? Secret connection of duchess to the royal family revealed
Even as the royal family prepares for the funeral of Prince Philip, who died on April 9, there have been developments on the Meghan Markle front. News of her "actual" relationship with her husband Prince Harry has resurfaced. Reportedly, the 'Suits' star is a direct descendant of King Edward III. This essentially makes her Harry's cousin.
A report by the New England Historic Genealogical Society goes on to suggest that she and Harry are 17th cousins and she shares the same family lines with the Queen and Princess Diana. In addition, Meghan is also related to eight American presidents, three first ladies, and a string of other eminent American actors, James Dean and Roy Rogers.
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Renowned genealogist Gary Boyd Roberts explained the cousin connection. “Meghan Markle is related to Prince Harry hundreds of times over, and therefore also to millions of Americans and Britons,” said Gary Boyd Roberts. “Much of American and English history is reflected in her diverse ancestry.”
The Genealogical Society report also said: "Her distant kinships also include most modern European royal families, Roberts states, through a late medieval English kinswoman, Margaret Kerdeston (ca. 1426–after 1485), wife of a French nobleman and grandmother of a queen of Hungary and Bohemia."
Roberts also confirmed she was indeed the 17th cousin. "What is clear now is that she has a well-documented lineage from medieval kings through the Skipper family of Boston and that Prince Harry is her 17th cousin."
Earlier this year, the couple's issues with the royal family became a global interest-piquing topic. Startling revelations came to light when they sat in a no-holds-barred interview with Oprah Winfrey on March 7. Meghan claimed she and Harry married in secret three days before their actual Windsor Castle wedding.
Recent updates suggest Meghan regretted the timing of the interview. At the time the interview went live, Philip had been in the hospital and the program came under intense scrutiny. Now, following Philip's death at the age of 99, reports said the couple regrets the timing of their interview.
In related news, Philip's funeral will see the following attendees: The Queen, Prince Edward, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke of Cambridge, The Duchess of Cambridge, The Duke of Sussex, The Duke of York, Princess Beatrice, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank, The Earl of Wessex, The Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise Windsor, Viscount Severn, The Princess Royal.
Vice-Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, Peter Phillips, Zara Phillips, Mike Tindall, Earl of Snowdon, Lady Sarah Chatto, Daniel Chatto, Duke of Gloucester, Duke of Kent, Princess Alexandra, Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Baden, Prince Donatus, Landgrave of Hesse, Prince Philipp of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and The Countess Mountbatten of Burma will be in attendance.