PROVO, Utah, April 4 /PRNewswire/ -- When Prince Charles first met Camilla Parker-Bowles at a polo match in the early seventies, she said to the prince, "My great-grandmother and your great-great grandfather were lovers, so how about it?" Today, genealogical research shows they have an even stronger bond, they are ninth cousins. According to family history experts at Ancestry.com, a service of MyFamily.com, Inc., Prince Charles and Camilla are ninth cousins once removed.
Prince Charles and Camilla are both descendents of Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle. Prince Charles' family history can be traced back to the Duke's elder daughter Margaret Cavendish, while Camilla's family tree leads to the Duke's younger daughter Catherine Cavendish.
A second and more scandalous possible tie also exists that would make the soon-to-be married couple half second cousins once removed. It is believed that Camilla's grandmother, Sonia Keppel, was the illegitimate daughter of King Edward VII. If this is true then she and Charles would be half second cousins once removed. The half denotes that Charles and Camilla are descended from different partners of Edward VII (Charles from Edward's wife and Camilla from Edward's alleged mistress, Alice Edmonstone).
To view the full family trees visit http://www.ancestry.com/princecharles.
In addition to the family ties between Prince Charles and Camilla, Ancestry.com has uncovered links in other famous family trees including George W. Bush to John Kerry, Clint Eastwood to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Madonna to Celine Dion. Other royal family connections include Princess Diana to Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. This connection is unique because it is not through Princess Diana's marriage to Prince Charles, but rather through a nineteenth-century duke named James Hamilton from the Princess' side of the family.
In addition, Andrew Firestone, former Bachelor star and heir to the Firestone wine and tire fortune has been linked to Prince William.