Top Five Queen Elizabeth II Facts and Top Tips for Tracing Your Royal Ancestry

Queen Elizabeth II will become Britain’s longest reigning monarch today – having been on the throne for 63 years, seven months and two days, equalling the record held by her great-great grandmother, Queen Victoria.

 

 

 Top Five Queen Elizabeth II Facts

 

• The Queen will have plenty of people to celebrate the milestone with; Our research reveals that 2 per cent of UK residents claim to have Royal ancestry in their family tree, the equivalent of more than 1.2 million people.[1]

 

• A study of birth indexes has uncovered that the number of babies born with the name ‘Elizabeth’ increased by 6% the year after the monarch was born in 1926, the equivalent of 370 extra baby Elizabeths that year.

 

• Analysis of historic marriage records reveals that following the union of Queen Elizabeth and The Duke of Edinburgh in 1947 there was a 35% increase in weddings that year.

 

• The Queen may receive congratulations from some very famous relatives. Benedict Cumberbatch, Brad Pitt, Hugh Grant, Uma Thurman and Tom Hanks all have ancestral connections to British royalty.

 

• Internationally Americans and Canadians are most fond of the Royals and would rather find a King or Queen in their family trees above any other kind of ancestor. Brits, Australians, Germans and Swedes most want to find an explorer or an adventurer.

 

 

Miriam Silverman, Senior Content Manager from Ancestry comments: “While no official celebrations are planned, today the Queen has made history and we wanted to mark the event with a few lesser-known facts and trends our researchers uncovered through the study of historic Royal records.”

“We know so much about the Queen but how much do we really know about our own notable ancestors? This record-breaking reign presents people with the perfect opportunity to get online and discover more about the life and times of their own ancestors – blue blooded or otherwise.”

 

 

Top Tips for Tracing Your Royal Ancestry

 

• Explore surnames: Cross-reference surnames in your family tree with those found in Burke’s Commoners and Landed Gentry of Great Britain and Ireland

 

• Seek out wealth: Look for evidence of wealthy ancestors. A high number of domestic staff listings on census records, property and businesses documented in wills and probate records and ancestors who were extensive travellers listed in immigration records travelling in First Class, are all signs people had money

 

• Investigate titles: Explore the age and origins of any ancestors with titles, which are listed in the census

 

• Look for places: If your family’s surname is also the name of a place – for example a town or a parish, it is possible they once owned significant property or had a title in the area

 

• Find the Normans: Many early Normans had direct royal connections, so if you can trace back this far you may be able to find a link to William the Conqueror, or investigate the meaning of your surname and any potential Norman link.

 

[1] According to ONS, the current UK population is 64.6 million. 2% of 64.6 million = 1,292,000 people.