Queen Elizabeth II: A Distant Descendant of the Prophet Muhammad

Historians have discovered that Queen Elizabeth II, the current British monarch, is a descendant of the founder of Islam, after tracing her family tree back 43 generations.

This claim makes her a distant ancestor of the prophet Muhammad.

The findings were first published in 1986 by Berkspurage, a British authority on royal pedigrees, but the claim has recently resurfaced after a Moroccan newspaper said it had traced the queen's lineage back to the prophet.

According to the research, Elizabeth II's bloodline runs through the Earl of Cambridge in the 14th century, across medieval Muslim Spain, to Fatima, the prophet's daughter.

While some historians dispute this claim, genealogical records of early medieval Spain also support it, and it has been verified by Ali Gama, the former Grand Mufti of Egypt.

Berks' publishing director wrote to the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1986 calling for increased security for the royal family.

“The royal family's direct descent from the prophet Muhammad cannot be relied upon to protect the royal family forever from Muslim terrorists,” he wrote to Thatcher.

Recognizing that this connection would be a surprise to many, he added, “It is little known by the British people that the blood of Muhammad flows in the veins of the queen.”

The study from Berkspurage first officially suggested the queen's connection to the prophet Muhammad.

They claimed the queen descends from a Muslim princess called Zayda, who fled her hometown of Seville in the 11th century before converting to Christianity.

Zayda was the fourth wife of King Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abad of Seville.

She bore him a son Sanko, whose descendant later married the Earl of Cambridge in the 11th century.

However, British magazine The Spectator points out that Zayda's origins are debatable.

Some historians believe she was the daughter of a wine-drinking caliph descended from the prophet, while others say she married into his family.

The reaction to the queen's reported links to the prophet has been mixed.

Abdul Hamid Al-Uni welcomed the news in his piece in Moroccan newspaper Al-Ausbou, writing, “It builds a bridge between our two religions and kingdoms.”

Meanwhile, a tongue-in-cheek headline on the Arab Atheist Network's web forum read, “Queen Elizabeth must claim her right to rule Muslims.”