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Discover Magazine
June 15 2013
Prince William may have little to no Indian ancestry
By Razib Khan | June 14, 2013 5:33 pm
The British media is blowing up today about Prince William's Indian
ancestry. Here's a representative headline: Hunt is on in Gujarat for
a distant cousin who shares Prince William's Indian blood. The science
here is straightforward. Apparently some British researchers found
third cousins of Lady Diana Spencer. These individuals, like Diana,
are descended from a woman named Eliza Kewark. This woman, William's
great, great, great, great, great grandmother was an ethnic Armenian
who was resident in India. She was also the housekeeper of William's
ancestor Theodore Forbes, a Scottish merchant. At some point he sent
his children by this woman to be educated in England, and there
William's ancestress married into native British lineages. Since
Diana's cousins share the same unbroken matriline as she does they by
definition share an mtDNA lineage. As it happens these individuals
carry haplgroup R30b, a very rare lineage found only in South Asia.
But that's not all. Diana's cousins also are 0.3% and 0.8% South Asian
on their autosomal genome. The intersection of these two facts does
convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did
have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally
ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long
resident in India). But please note that I said genealogical
ancestress.
Observe the large variance in ancestry of Diana's two third cousins
presumably derived from Eliza Kewark (though there is always the
chance that these segments come from different South Asian ancestors,
the typically South Asian mtDNA match across the two reduces the
probability of that being the answer in this case). Beyond eight
generations the chance of a genetic segment being passed from an
ancestor down to a descendant is small. Diana's cousins are seven
generations down from Eliza Kewark, so it isn't totally implausible
that a segment should get passed down. But William at eight is at the
boundary, and he may carry no segments (in fact, Diana may have
carried no segments). Of course I did note that their mtDNA is likely
to be passed down, because there is no element of chance in that. You
have your mother's mtDNA. But one can debate whether mtDNA, which is
not present in the nucleus, really counts as ancestry. I believe that
heritable genetic material is heritable genetic material. Assuming the
lines of descent are as they are recorded I accept that we know for a
fact that William likely has South Asian mtDNA. But we most certainly
do not know if he has any South Asian autosomal DNA.
But in the end how much does this matter? People will make of it what
they will. And yet there is an important aspect to note: this seems
like another instance of the firm BritainsDNA hyping genetic findings
to increase their profile. You see that the screenshot of their
website shows that they're promoting the story about William's
ancestry, and, they're also claiming that they are offering the
world's most advanced genetic ancestry test. First, I have to observe
that their price points are very high, and second, if they are going
to claim the most advanced test in the world they should actually do a
point-by-point comparison with other services, which they don't seem
to do.
Perhaps more importantly this outfit now has a history of getting
caught up in, and frankly stoking, hype. I don't begrudge anyone their
livelihood, or financial success, but scientists do have an implicit
and explicit honor code. Jim Wilson has been involved in some
interesting work, which is what I knew him from. But a third time will
be a trend, and Wilson shouldn't be surprised if rather soon he
becomes thought of as a `tabloid geneticist,' rather than a scholar
who popularizes serious science to the broader public.
Addendum: For American readers I should make it clear that it isn't
totally surprising that the British upper classes and gentry have some
Indian ancestry, because so many of them have had ancestors associated
with the British Raj. The book White Mughals explores this period and
people in extensive detail. For some specifics, recall that Robert
Jenkins, later Lord Liverpool, and Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom for 10 years, 1817-1827, was 1/8th Indian by ancestry. The
British actress Nicollette Sheridan is also 1/8th Indian. And finally,
my friend Dan MacArthur clearly has South Asian ancestry, due to the
same historical circumstances as the individuals above. This is
perhaps the British equivalent of `Native American ancestry.'
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2013/06/prince-william-may-have-little-to-no-indian-ancestry/#.UbzHvefI3p8
Related Stories:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/royals/Researchers+reveal+evidence+Prince+William+Indian+ heritage/8526579/story.html
http://www.asianage.com/newsmakers/uk-princes-dna-eliza-surat-513
http://www.firstpost.com/world/guess-whos-got-indian-genes-britains-future-king-prince-william-871547.html
http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/407683/DNA-tests-reveal-Prince-William-has-ancestors-in-India
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2342035/DNA-tests-future-British-monarch-Prince-William-clear-genetic-line-India-Dianas-side.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/prince-william-dna-test-proves-indian-heritage-112748671.html#vMGrXsG
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130615/jsp/frontpage/story_17010162.jsp
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342005/Prince-William-actually-Indian--distant-cousin-knew-family-secret-along.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/14/prince-william-indian-heritage-dna-test-princess-diana_n_3443452.html
http://theconversation.com/will-i-am-indian-but-does-it-matter-15215
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/news/world/Prince-William-is-part-rajkumar-DNA-study-finds/articleshow/20597248.cms
http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/16546/20130614/prince-williams-indian-prince-williams-indian-ancestry-genetic-testing-ancestry-app.htm
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/352256
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Europe/Williambhai-Patel-DNA-links-Prince-to-India/Article1-1076569.aspx
http://www.domain-b.com/people/in_the_news/20130615_indian_kin.html
http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/prince-williams-distant-cousin-a-gujarati-in-india/
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/157019/princess_dianas_shocking_ancestral_secret
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/355281/dna-proves-heir-to-british-throne-has-indian-blood
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/479141/20130615/prince-william-indian-connection-kate-middleton.htm
http://news.sky.com/story/1103678/prince-william-dna-test-proves-indian-heritage
http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=223676
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Prince-William-is-part-Indian/articleshow/20604588.cms
http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?newsid=229636&catname=World
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/todays-news/2013/jun/15/dna-tests-show-prince-william-has-ancestor-india/
http://www.hngn.com/articles/5449/20130615/prince-william-part-indian-new-dna-test-shows-future-king-related-housekeeper.htm
June 15 2013
Prince William may have little to no Indian ancestry
By Razib Khan | June 14, 2013 5:33 pm
The British media is blowing up today about Prince William's Indian
ancestry. Here's a representative headline: Hunt is on in Gujarat for
a distant cousin who shares Prince William's Indian blood. The science
here is straightforward. Apparently some British researchers found
third cousins of Lady Diana Spencer. These individuals, like Diana,
are descended from a woman named Eliza Kewark. This woman, William's
great, great, great, great, great grandmother was an ethnic Armenian
who was resident in India. She was also the housekeeper of William's
ancestor Theodore Forbes, a Scottish merchant. At some point he sent
his children by this woman to be educated in England, and there
William's ancestress married into native British lineages. Since
Diana's cousins share the same unbroken matriline as she does they by
definition share an mtDNA lineage. As it happens these individuals
carry haplgroup R30b, a very rare lineage found only in South Asia.
But that's not all. Diana's cousins also are 0.3% and 0.8% South Asian
on their autosomal genome. The intersection of these two facts does
convince me that William's genealogical ancestress, Eliza Kewark, did
have South Asian ancestry (not totally surprising even in notionally
ethnically distinct groups like Armenians or Parsis who have been long
resident in India). But please note that I said genealogical
ancestress.
Observe the large variance in ancestry of Diana's two third cousins
presumably derived from Eliza Kewark (though there is always the
chance that these segments come from different South Asian ancestors,
the typically South Asian mtDNA match across the two reduces the
probability of that being the answer in this case). Beyond eight
generations the chance of a genetic segment being passed from an
ancestor down to a descendant is small. Diana's cousins are seven
generations down from Eliza Kewark, so it isn't totally implausible
that a segment should get passed down. But William at eight is at the
boundary, and he may carry no segments (in fact, Diana may have
carried no segments). Of course I did note that their mtDNA is likely
to be passed down, because there is no element of chance in that. You
have your mother's mtDNA. But one can debate whether mtDNA, which is
not present in the nucleus, really counts as ancestry. I believe that
heritable genetic material is heritable genetic material. Assuming the
lines of descent are as they are recorded I accept that we know for a
fact that William likely has South Asian mtDNA. But we most certainly
do not know if he has any South Asian autosomal DNA.
But in the end how much does this matter? People will make of it what
they will. And yet there is an important aspect to note: this seems
like another instance of the firm BritainsDNA hyping genetic findings
to increase their profile. You see that the screenshot of their
website shows that they're promoting the story about William's
ancestry, and, they're also claiming that they are offering the
world's most advanced genetic ancestry test. First, I have to observe
that their price points are very high, and second, if they are going
to claim the most advanced test in the world they should actually do a
point-by-point comparison with other services, which they don't seem
to do.
Perhaps more importantly this outfit now has a history of getting
caught up in, and frankly stoking, hype. I don't begrudge anyone their
livelihood, or financial success, but scientists do have an implicit
and explicit honor code. Jim Wilson has been involved in some
interesting work, which is what I knew him from. But a third time will
be a trend, and Wilson shouldn't be surprised if rather soon he
becomes thought of as a `tabloid geneticist,' rather than a scholar
who popularizes serious science to the broader public.
Addendum: For American readers I should make it clear that it isn't
totally surprising that the British upper classes and gentry have some
Indian ancestry, because so many of them have had ancestors associated
with the British Raj. The book White Mughals explores this period and
people in extensive detail. For some specifics, recall that Robert
Jenkins, later Lord Liverpool, and Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom for 10 years, 1817-1827, was 1/8th Indian by ancestry. The
British actress Nicollette Sheridan is also 1/8th Indian. And finally,
my friend Dan MacArthur clearly has South Asian ancestry, due to the
same historical circumstances as the individuals above. This is
perhaps the British equivalent of `Native American ancestry.'
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/gnxp/2013/06/prince-william-may-have-little-to-no-indian-ancestry/#.UbzHvefI3p8
Related Stories:
http://www.calgaryherald.com/life/royals/Researchers+reveal+evidence+Prince+William+Indian+ heritage/8526579/story.html
http://www.asianage.com/newsmakers/uk-princes-dna-eliza-surat-513
http://www.firstpost.com/world/guess-whos-got-indian-genes-britains-future-king-prince-william-871547.html
http://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/407683/DNA-tests-reveal-Prince-William-has-ancestors-in-India
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2342035/DNA-tests-future-British-monarch-Prince-William-clear-genetic-line-India-Dianas-side.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/prince-william-dna-test-proves-indian-heritage-112748671.html#vMGrXsG
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1130615/jsp/frontpage/story_17010162.jsp
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2342005/Prince-William-actually-Indian--distant-cousin-knew-family-secret-along.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/14/prince-william-indian-heritage-dna-test-princess-diana_n_3443452.html
http://theconversation.com/will-i-am-indian-but-does-it-matter-15215
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/news/world/Prince-William-is-part-rajkumar-DNA-study-finds/articleshow/20597248.cms
http://www.medicaldaily.com/articles/16546/20130614/prince-williams-indian-prince-williams-indian-ancestry-genetic-testing-ancestry-app.htm
http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/352256
http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Europe/Williambhai-Patel-DNA-links-Prince-to-India/Article1-1076569.aspx
http://www.domain-b.com/people/in_the_news/20130615_indian_kin.html
http://guardianlv.com/2013/06/prince-williams-distant-cousin-a-gujarati-in-india/
http://thestir.cafemom.com/in_the_news/157019/princess_dianas_shocking_ancestral_secret
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/world/355281/dna-proves-heir-to-british-throne-has-indian-blood
http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/479141/20130615/prince-william-indian-connection-kate-middleton.htm
http://news.sky.com/story/1103678/prince-william-dna-test-proves-indian-heritage
http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=223676
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/people/Prince-William-is-part-Indian/articleshow/20604588.cms
http://www.onlinenews.com.pk/details.php?newsid=229636&catname=World
http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/todays-news/2013/jun/15/dna-tests-show-prince-william-has-ancestor-india/
http://www.hngn.com/articles/5449/20130615/prince-william-part-indian-new-dna-test-shows-future-king-related-housekeeper.htm