Royal Families

badbabynames:

The UK’s Queen Elizabeth II has her first great-grandchild! The healthy baby girl’s name has not been officially announced, but last weekend when the queen was attending church, the priest let slip the name Savannah when asking for prayers for the newborn. The proud parents are Peter Phillips (son of Princess Anne and her first husband, Captain Mark Phillips) and his wife, Autumn Kelly.

This isn’t a bad name — just unusual for this family full of Annes, Elizabeths and Marys. Rather American — or possibly Canadian, which is where Autumn Kelly came from. But then, Princess Anne started the trend by naming Peter’s younger sister Zara. Even Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie (daughters of Sarah Ferguson and Prince Andrew), whose names at first seem unusual, are in fact named after daughters of Queen Victoria.

shatura1:

I have always been a nerd for European royalty/monarchy and I blame the Ancient Egyptians for that, I was into that too when I was younger. 

So I have spent the majority of the morning reading up on Elizabeth the First and all the glory and drama of that era and I came across an interesting fact. At some point in her reign Elizabeth I banished the secret wife, Lettice Knollys, of her favorite Robert Dudley in anger of their marriage. Lettice’s sister is Elizabeth Knollys, from who Prince William is the 11/great-grandson of. 

As is Catherine Middleton, his fiancee.

Wah? No really.

So they are cousins generations apart, Prince William’s heritage runs through his mother and I couldn’t exactly figure out Catherine’s as her family does not have very many titles. 

The Knollys sisters are granddaughters of Mary Boleyn, who was one of King Henry VIII’s many mistreses. Mary Boleyn was the aunt of Elizabeth I. 

Also Guy Ritchie and Helena Bonham-Carter are related to Middleton as well. And inherently, Prince William, albeit distantly. And I know the Fiennes (Ralph, Joseph, etc.) are related to Prince William also. 

WOW.

The British monarchy has welcomed a royal bundle of joy, Buckingham Palace said in a press release Thursday.

Autumn Phillips, wife of Peter Phillips, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, gave birth to a girl on Wednesday at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital, according to the statement.