Queen Elizabeth to Princess Diana: 5 British royal brides who married distant relatives (apparently)

Prince Charles and Princess Diana during their wedding ceremony / AP-Yonhap

In essence, royal institutions are an extreme form of family business, and ― while it might not be that unusual to think up historical royals who married within their own bloodline ― it may surprise some readers that some modern-day members of the British family have kept up the centuries-old tradition.

Here are a few contemporary royals who married their own relatives ― no matter how distant.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip / AP-Yonhap

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

That's right, the monarch and her late husband Prince Philip were third cousins ― with both of them being able to call Queen Victoria their great-great-grandmother. Queen Elizabeth is the great-granddaughter of King Edward VII, Queen Victoria's son, while her husband Philip was the great-grandson of Queen Victoria's daughter, Princess Alice.

Interestingly, though, that isn't the only family connection. The couple, who were married for 73 years before Philip's passing, also share a common ancestor in King Christian IX of Denmark. He was the queen's great-great-grandfather and Philip's great-grandfather!

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

When Lady Diana Spencer walked down the aisle to wed her prince, not many people realized that she was actually being bonded in matrimony to a distant relative of hers. Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and his first wife were actually 16th cousins once removed. The two share a common heredity to King Henry VII.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex, Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones / AP-Yonhap

Prince Edward and Sophie Rhys-Jones

The Count and Countess of Wessex ― who married in 1999 ― are 11th cousins once removed, and have a common convergence in their family trees that dates back to the 16th century.

Britain's Prince William, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte / AP-Yonhap

Prince William and Kate Middleton

From the moment Kate Middleton appeared on royal watchers' radars, every bit of her life was scrutinized ― including her genealogy. Sleuths over at Channel 4 News reported at the time that the future Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were, like many other members of the royal family, distantly related. Heraldry and genealogy specialist Patrick Cracroft-Brennan is quoted as explaining: "Her great-great-grandmother, Frances Elizabeth Greenhow, was the 10 x great-granddaughter of Sir William Gascoigne, a Yorkshire knight who died in 1487.

"He married Lady Margaret Percy, fourth and youngest daughter of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. The earl descended from King Edward III through both his parents. Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana both descend from Sir William Gascoigne and his wife Lady Margaret. This makes William and Kate fourteenth cousins once removed through his mother and fifteenth cousins through his father."

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry / EPA-Yonhap

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Given their differences in upbringings, this reported lineage connected may come as more of a surprise. Back in 2017, a number of publications, including The Mail on Sunday and Elle, determined that Prince Harry and his US-born wife are actually distant relatives. Research linked the two on a genetic level through a connection of Meghan's ancestry that dates all the way back to the 15th century. We guess it could be true ― the more things change, the more they actually stay the same!