Today marks the anniversary of the accession of the late Queen Elizabeth II on 6th February 1952. She was the longest reigning monarch in British history, ruling from this day in 1952 until her death in September 2022. As we reflect on her remarkable reign, I thought it would be fitting to explore an intriguing piece of history—the present royal family’s descent from both the Tudors and the Boleyns.
Yes, you heard that right! King Charles III has Tudor blood AND Boleyn blood.
But wait—how is that possible? The last Tudor monarch, Elizabeth I, died childless, and as we all know, she was Anne Boleyn’s only surviving child. So where does the royal family’s Tudor-Boleyn connection come from?
Let’s unravel this fascinating royal lineage...
King Charles III’s Boleyn bloodline traces back to Mary Boleyn, Anne Boleyn’s sister. While Anne Boleyn lost her life on the scaffold, leaving just one child, Mary Boleyn had two surviving children—one of whom, Catherine Carey, married Sir Francis Knollys. This line stretches all the way down to Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, better known as the Queen Mother, who was Charles III’s maternal grandmother.
And here’s where things get even more interesting...
Some historians believe that Catherine Carey was actually fathered by Henry VIII, rather than Mary Boleyn’s husband, William Carey. If that theory is true – which, personally, I don’t believe - then King Charles III isn’t just descended from Anne Boleyn’s family—he would also be descended directly from Henry VIII himself!
Mary Boleyn
King Charles III’s sons, Prince William and Prince Harry, have two separate Boleyn connections! While they inherit Mary Boleyn’s lineage through their father, they also inherit it through their mother, Diana, Princess of Wales. Diana was a direct descendant of Mary Boleyn’s son, Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon, through her father, John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer.
So both William and Harry carry double Boleyn ancestry—a rather interesting twist, considering that Anne Boleyn’s own daughter, Elizabeth I, never had children!
But what about the Tudor bloodline?
King Charles III is directly descended from Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty. This comes through Henry VII’s eldest daughter, Margaret Tudor, who married James IV of Scotland. Their descendants include not one but two of Margaret’s grandchildren, Henry Stewart, Lord Darnley, and Mary, Queen of Scots—who, of course, married each other!
Their son was James VI of Scotland/James I of England, the first Stuart king of England. From James, the royal line continued through:
- His daughter, Elizabeth, Queen of Bohemia
- Her daughter, Sophia, Electress of Hanover
- Her son, George I
- His son, George II
- His son, Frederick Louis, Prince of Wales
- His son, George III
- His son, Edward, Duke of Kent
- His daughter, Queen Victoria
- Her son, Edward VII
- His son, George V
- His son, George VI
- His daughter, Queen Elizabeth II
- And now her son, King Charles III
William the Conqueror from the Bayeux Tapestry
But wait, there’s more! Mary Boleyn and Henry VIII were also descended from King Edward I, who ruled from 1272-1307, through numerous lines. And Edward I descended from Henry III, the son of King John—yes, that King John of Magna Carta fame!
Go back even further, and we get to Henry II, whose mother was Empress Matilda, daughter of Henry I, the son of William the Conqueror.
So in tracing King Charles III’s lineage, we can connect him to the Tudors, the Boleyns, the Plantagenets, and even the Norman Conquest of 1066!
That’s nearly a thousand years of English and British history packed into one family tree!
So next time you hear someone say "The Tudor line ended with Elizabeth I," remember that it technically lives on in today’s royal family—just not in the way many people expect! And when you hear people today say that the present royal family aren’t at all British, they’re German, you can correct them too.
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