Are any of the current UK royals related to William the Conqueror?

Question

If so, who are they and what sort of connection is there?

If not, are there any other descendants and what are they up to?

Answer 1

The answer from "brainy" illustrates the problem of going "by the books" (or web sites) and not examining the information. While it is true that the George I of the "House of Hanover" is called to the British throne in 1714, the reason that the succession passes to him and his descendants is a little law of the Throne (Queen Anne) in Parliament called the Act of Succession 1702, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=37703 After all the problems of James II, this act simply stated that succession to the British throne was by descent to the next PROTESTANT heir. In other words later Stuarts are excluded because they are Catholics not because they are Stuarts. George I (whose direct male line goes back to the early Holy Roman Empire and the rulers of medieval Italy and whose family name is actually D'este or Guelph,) ascends the throne because his mother is the granddaughter of King James I Stuart and the most direct Protestant heir to Queen Anne. James I came to throne of England because he was the most direct descendant of Margaret Tudor, the sister of Henry VIII, and after the death of Elizabeth, the heir to the Tudor line. The Tudors had come to throne as the champions of the house of Lancaster (descended from John of Gaunt, a son of King Edward III,) through his mother Margaret Beaufort. In order to end the War of Roses, Henry VII of Lancaster married Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV, so on both sides the later Tudors and their descendants were the direct heirs of the Plantagenets, who through the person of Matilda, the daughter of King Henry I who was the fourth son of William the Conqueror.
So the answer to your question is that all of the present "royals" are direct descendants of William the Conqueror. Further, through the wife of King Henry I, Maud of Scotland, the British royal family are descendants of the earlier Saxon kings and can trace a direct descent from Kings of Wessex. if you want to trace the line of descent yourself, or check out a fuller history of a King or Queen, try this site:
http://www.royal.gov.uk/output/Page5.asp
I hope this helps

Answer 2

It's quite possible that most of the population of the UK is related in some way to William the Conqueror after all these centuries.

Answer 3

Pffft! I doubt it! They're of Germanic descent with all sorts of other European input! Queen Victoria started it!

'According to the official website of the British Monarchy, however, "the only British monarch of the House of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was King Edward VII, who reigned for nine years . . . . King George V replaced the German-sounding title with that of Windsor during the First World War. The name Saxe-Coburg-Gotha survived in other European monarchies, including the former monarchies of Portugal and Bulgaria and in the Belgian Royal Family until 1920."'

Come to think of it, have ANY of our past Kings and Queens been 100% British?

Answer 4

I must be one of the few Brits not directly descended from Willy Conker - but from some bloke called Hervey who followed over from Normandy a couple of years later, obviously thinking that "after the dust has settled I reckon there will be major investment in this 'ere island, I think I'll buy me some land on the cheap!".

Just wished the old ancestors had kept hold of that land!

Answer 5

yes all of them a direct decedants though probably a large proportion of poplation of great britian is too by as well. Though there have been a number of point where dynastic line stops going from father to son either because the king had no children in 1715 or went king was over thrown at 1485 it that case it went to near or fairly near cousin if he had army as in 1485. All king and reigning queen after willian and conquer are direct decendants of him as is the entire royal family.

Answer 6

William's bloodline ended in 1399 with the death of Richard II, son of the Black Prince.
In 1714 Queen Anne's death ended the House of Stuart.
1714-27 The Act of Settlement brought George I of Hanover to the English throne,
1727-'60 his son GeorgeII
1760-1820-his son GeorgeIII
1820-1830- his son George IV
1830-'37 - his son WilliamIV
1837-1901- his niece Victoria (Last of the Hanoverins)
1901-1910 her son Edward VII (Only monarch of the house Of Saxe Coburg Gotha)
1910-'36 his son George V changed family name to Windsor because of WW I
1936 his son Edward VIII abdicated in favour of his younger brother Albert who took the name
1936-'52 George VI father of the present queen.

So I'm afraid dear old Betty's line only goes back to 1714 and the House of Hanover. Hope that answers your question?

Answer 7

I think I might be. I'm a direct patrilineal descendant of Sir Bulstrode and his father Sir James [surname withheld], who I believe was married to a descendant of our Bill. But I don't think I'm unique in this - I think that that most famous invader spread his seed far and wide, and many can claim a legacy. It hasn't exactly added much to my life!

Answer 8

Not a history buff, but if i can remember back to the dark ages of my schooling, i am pretty sure the royal family is of German descent.

Answer 9

I consider myself as royalty and come from good old Guillaume le Conquerant's home town. Does that count?

Answer 10

Brainy said it all, only that Queen Bodicia is a Celt