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The Times (London), UK
June 14 2013
Revealed: the Indian ancestry of William
William's Indian ancestry is revealed by DNA analysis
by David Brown
The Duke of Cambridge will be Britain's first king to have proven
Indian ancestry, DNA analysis has revealed.
Tests on saliva samples taken from Prince William's relatives have
established a direct lineage between the second in line to the throne
and a woman now known to have been at least half-Indian.
The discovery means that the Duke will become the first Head of the
Commonwealth with a clear genetic link to its most populous nation. It
is his only non-European DNA.
The Duke has yet to visit India but will be encouraged to make an
official tour after the birth of his first child next month. His wife,
the Duchess of Cambridge, completed her final solo engagement before
the birth at a ship-naming ceremony in Southampton yesterday.
The revelation of the Duke's Asian ancestry is sure to boost his
popularity among India's 1.1 billion population.
His parents visited India in 1992 but a photograph of Diana, Princess
of Wales sitting alone in front of the TaJ Mahal came to symbolise the
disintegration of their marriage.
Now researchers have uncovered the details of the similarly doomed
relationship of the Duke's Indian great-great-great-great grandmother.
It has long been known that Eliza Kewark lived in western India but
she is usually described as Armenian. However, analysis of DNA passed
down the female line confirms that she was at least half-Indian.
The revelation explains why the Scottish father of her children
suddenly deserted her and sent their daughter, Katherine, to Britain
at the age of 6. Researchers have discovered letters from Eliza to her
children's father, Theodore Forbes, pleading for her to be allowed to
see him.
When Mr Forbes died on a ship back to Britain in 1820 his will
referred to Eliza as his "housekeeper" and the mother of his "reputed
natural daughter" Katherine.
Jim Wilson, a genetics expert at the University of Edinburgh and
BritainsDNA, who carried out the tests, said that Eliza's descendants
had an incredibly rare type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inherited
only from a mother. It has so far been recorded in Continued on page
5, col 1 While his Duchess baptises a Princess The Duchess of
Cambridge named a cruise ship in Southampton yesterday on her last
solo engagement before she is due to give birth next month. In keeping
with tradition she broke a bottle of champagne against the hull of the
Royal Princess
Continued from page 1 only 14 other people, 13 Indian and one
Nepalese. This DNA will have been inherited by the Duke and Prince
Harry but will not be passed on to their children, although it is
likely that their descendants will have some of Eliza's Asian genetic
material.
Dr Wilson, a senior lecturer in population and disease genetics, said
that results of the mtDNA combined with the findings of South Asian
DNA in the rest of the genome meant that the evidence of the Duke's
Indian heritage was "unassailable".
Indians will seize on the revelation that a woman who appears to have
been shunned by colonial society because of her race is an ancestor of
the future King.
The news delighted the two distant cousins who provided the DNA
samples for the experiment.
Mary Roach, Princess Diana's maternal aunt, said: "I always assumed
that I was part-Armenian so I am delighted that I also have an Indian
background."
Alistair Moffat, the founder of BritainsDNA, said: "Knowing something
about your DNA and its origins in prehistory definitely changes your
sense of yourself, and one way that it does that is to make you feel
part of a world community."
It is the second stunning discovery involving royal DNA this year. In
February a skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park was confirmed
as that of Richard III after DNA from the bones matched that of
descendants of the monarch's family.
June 14 2013
Revealed: the Indian ancestry of William
William's Indian ancestry is revealed by DNA analysis
by David Brown
The Duke of Cambridge will be Britain's first king to have proven
Indian ancestry, DNA analysis has revealed.
Tests on saliva samples taken from Prince William's relatives have
established a direct lineage between the second in line to the throne
and a woman now known to have been at least half-Indian.
The discovery means that the Duke will become the first Head of the
Commonwealth with a clear genetic link to its most populous nation. It
is his only non-European DNA.
The Duke has yet to visit India but will be encouraged to make an
official tour after the birth of his first child next month. His wife,
the Duchess of Cambridge, completed her final solo engagement before
the birth at a ship-naming ceremony in Southampton yesterday.
The revelation of the Duke's Asian ancestry is sure to boost his
popularity among India's 1.1 billion population.
His parents visited India in 1992 but a photograph of Diana, Princess
of Wales sitting alone in front of the TaJ Mahal came to symbolise the
disintegration of their marriage.
Now researchers have uncovered the details of the similarly doomed
relationship of the Duke's Indian great-great-great-great grandmother.
It has long been known that Eliza Kewark lived in western India but
she is usually described as Armenian. However, analysis of DNA passed
down the female line confirms that she was at least half-Indian.
The revelation explains why the Scottish father of her children
suddenly deserted her and sent their daughter, Katherine, to Britain
at the age of 6. Researchers have discovered letters from Eliza to her
children's father, Theodore Forbes, pleading for her to be allowed to
see him.
When Mr Forbes died on a ship back to Britain in 1820 his will
referred to Eliza as his "housekeeper" and the mother of his "reputed
natural daughter" Katherine.
Jim Wilson, a genetics expert at the University of Edinburgh and
BritainsDNA, who carried out the tests, said that Eliza's descendants
had an incredibly rare type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inherited
only from a mother. It has so far been recorded in Continued on page
5, col 1 While his Duchess baptises a Princess The Duchess of
Cambridge named a cruise ship in Southampton yesterday on her last
solo engagement before she is due to give birth next month. In keeping
with tradition she broke a bottle of champagne against the hull of the
Royal Princess
Continued from page 1 only 14 other people, 13 Indian and one
Nepalese. This DNA will have been inherited by the Duke and Prince
Harry but will not be passed on to their children, although it is
likely that their descendants will have some of Eliza's Asian genetic
material.
Dr Wilson, a senior lecturer in population and disease genetics, said
that results of the mtDNA combined with the findings of South Asian
DNA in the rest of the genome meant that the evidence of the Duke's
Indian heritage was "unassailable".
Indians will seize on the revelation that a woman who appears to have
been shunned by colonial society because of her race is an ancestor of
the future King.
The news delighted the two distant cousins who provided the DNA
samples for the experiment.
Mary Roach, Princess Diana's maternal aunt, said: "I always assumed
that I was part-Armenian so I am delighted that I also have an Indian
background."
Alistair Moffat, the founder of BritainsDNA, said: "Knowing something
about your DNA and its origins in prehistory definitely changes your
sense of yourself, and one way that it does that is to make you feel
part of a world community."
It is the second stunning discovery involving royal DNA this year. In
February a skeleton found beneath a Leicester car park was confirmed
as that of Richard III after DNA from the bones matched that of
descendants of the monarch's family.