Royal Family News
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: Distant Cousins?
The world has been buzzing with the news of Prince Harry and his American actress girlfriend, Meghan Markle.
The couple seems to have a lot in common despite their vastly different upbringings.
Interestingly, a genealogical investigation by the Mail on Sunday has revealed that the couple may be distant cousins, related through a late 15th-century ancestor of the Queen Mother.
Meghan's connection to the royal family comes from the forebears of her father, Thomas Markle, who was an Emmy-winning cinematographer.
On his mother's side, Meghan's family can be traced all the way back to an Englishman called Ralph Bowes, Meghan's ancestor from 15 generations ago.
He was a high sheriff of County Durham, whose family's seat was Streetlam Castle with extensive estates.
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The Bowes estates and Streetlam Castle continued to pass down from Bridgette's uncle through a succession of male heirs.
A couple of centuries later, the direct line to the royal family in Harry starts when the estate and the castle have passed down to Sir George Bowes, an MP.
His first wife died childless, but his second wife gave birth to one child, a daughter, Mary Bowes, who in 1767 married John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorn.
John Lyon added Bowes to his name, a strict condition of inheriting Streetlam Castle and surrounding estates, and the Bowes-Lyon dynasty was forged.
Five generations later, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the Duke of York, who would become George VI.
In due course, Elizabeth would be Queen Mother when her eldest daughter became Queen Elizabeth II in 1952.
It is fascinating to discover that Meghan's family line eventually produced her, and she might also like to investigate another piece of historical good fortune.
Her German ancestors were entitled to their own coat of arms, in the form of a gold feather set between two gold fleur-de-lis on a blue background.
It comes courtesy of Meghan's grandfather, Gordon Markle, husband of Doris, who was descended from Abraham Markle, 1630-1698, of Alsace.
While Meghan's much-loved late paternal grandmother, Doris Markle, worked at a shop described as the U.S. equivalent of Poundland, her family origins were rather more auspicious.
The Bowes family was wealthy and influential, with Ralph Bowes serving as a high sheriff of County Durham.
His granddaughter, Bridgette Bowes, became a dutiful wife to John Hussey, of Dorking, Surrey.
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