King Charles III is Jill Biden’s 13th cousin once removed
Much attention has been paid to the fact that US President Joe Biden will not attend the King’s coronation.
Instead, his wife Jill, 71, will lead the delegation from the United States at the historic ceremony at Westminster Abbey on Saturday.
Remarkably, new research has revealed how Ms. Biden and King Charles are distant cousins.
New research has revealed how the monarch and Mrs Biden are both descended from the 16th-century noble couple Philippe III de Croÿ and his wife Johanna. They are 13th cousins once removed.
Philippe III, who died in 1595, served as a knight under the Spanish King Philip II, the husband of Queen Mary who sent the Spanish Armada to invade England in 1588.
The research by ancestral website MyHeritage has also revealed that the king is a 12th cousin of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will also be at the coronation.
New research has revealed how King Charles is a distant cousin of US First Lady Jill Biden, who will attend his coronation on Saturday. Above: Ms Biden (left) is seen talking to the late Queen at the G7 summit in Cornwall in 2021. In the background is then Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, now the Queen Consort
The King and Mrs Biden are both the 13th generation descended from De Croÿ.
The “once removed” element of their connection refers to the number of generations that separate them.
A cousin once removed would refer to a cousin who is of your parent’s generation.
De Croÿ, who was also stadtholder – or steward – of Flanders in Belgium, had daughters Anne and Marguerite with his wife.
Charles is directly descended from Anne, while Mrs. Biden is descended from Marguerite.
The king’s link continues through the German princely house of Thurn and Taxis and descends to Francis, Duke of Teck.
Francis was the father of Mary of Teck, who later became Queen Mary as the wife of King George V. She was the great-grandmother of the King.
The monarch and Mrs. Biden are both descended from the 16th-century noble couple Philippe III de Croÿ (above) and his wife Johanna, making them 12th cousins four times removed
Philippe III, who died in 1595, served as a knight under the Spanish King Philip II, the husband of Queen Mary who sent the Spanish Armada to invade England in 1588
As might be expected, Mrs Biden’s descendants are less prestigious than the King’s. They span five generations of the van Gilder family, who came from the Netherlands and Belgium and settled in New Jersey.
Mrs. Biden’s great-great-grandmother, Emily Godfrey, was the daughter of Thompson Van Gilder.
Charles and Mr. Trudeau are both descendants of husband and wife Roger and Joan Boyle, who lived in the 16th century.
The King is descended from their son, Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, while Mr Trudeau is descended from their daughter Lady Mary Smyth.
The 1st Earl of Cork served as Lord Treasurer of the Kingdom of Ireland when the country was a client state of England.
The 4th Earl of Cork, also known as Richard, was the great-great-grandfather of the King’s great-grandmother, Cecila Bowes-Lyon.
Her daughter was the Queen Mother, the grandmother of Charles.
Mr. Trudeau’s heritage spans eight generations of the Bernard family. Thomas Patrick Bernard was his maternal great-grandfather.
Roi Mandell, MyHeritage’s director of research, said, “The royal family’s family tree is more accurately documented than any other in history, and its ramifications are spread all over the world.
“The connections we found between the First Lady of the United States, Jill Biden, and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau to the King — who was presumably unknown to them — is a perfect illustration of the beauty of genealogical research: it enable us to look broadly at family ties that transcend borders and countries.
The King is a 12th cousin once removed of Justin Trudeau, the Prime Minister of Canada. Above: King Charles III shakes hands with Trudeau last September, a week after the death of his mother, the Queen
“When we say we’re all connected in the end, we mean it.”
For this reason and to celebrate the coronation, we released 1.1 billion records for free to help people find their connections.” Roi Mandel, Director of Research, MyHeritage
Last month it emerged that President Biden would not be attending the King’s coronation and that the First Lady would instead attend on his behalf.
A White House statement said: “The President congratulated the King on his upcoming coronation and informed him that First Lady Jill Biden looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States.
“The president has also expressed his wish to meet the king in the UK in the future.”
A family tree showing how King Charles is related to Justin Trudeau who is his 12th cousin once removed
Trudeau will enjoy a video call with the king before attending the coronation on Saturday.
A statement released yesterday confirmed his presence at Westminster Abbey. He will be joined by Governor General Mary Simon, the monarch’s representative to Canada, and several other dignitaries, including Indigenous leaders and astronauts.
On Friday, Charles will be joined by working royals at a special luncheon for the Empire’s prime ministers and governors-general at Buckingham Palace.
The King, who is the head of the Commonwealth, will also attend a meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government and a garden reception at London’s Marlborough House on the same day.
And on the eve of the coronation, the king and royal family will host a glittering reception for foreign royalty and other foreign dignitaries at the palace.