Princess Diana Ancestry: Hidden Lineage Revealed
Princess Diana apparently had Indian ancestors, according to the genetic ancestry testing company BritainsDNA, ABC News reported Friday.
Eliza Kewark is Prince William's great-great-great-great-great-grandmother, and she was at least half-Indian, which means Britain will eventually have a monarch with Indian DNA.Kewark, orignially from India, was shunned by her family because of her race. The father of her child referred to her as the "housekeeper" and the "purported mother" of their daughter, Katharine.
Katharine was sent to England without her mother, and that's where this story might have ended--but Katherine gave birth to Jane, who gave birth to Ruth, who had another Ruth, who had Frances, who had Diana.
BritainsDNA says it is confident of Kewark's lineage because it traced Williams' mitochondrial DNA, or mtDNA, which is passed down from mother to child. BritainsDNA took saliva samples from two unnamed members of the royal family and traced it back seven generations to Kewark, who was born around 1790.
Kewark's mtDNA is so rare that it has only been found in 14 other people, all but one of whom was Indian. The other person was Nepali, according to BritainsDNA.
"It is therefore likely that Prince William has not only inherited a small proportion of Indian DNA from Eliza Kewark, but her heirs will also carry it," BritainsDNA announced.
According to the 2005 biography The Real Diana, by Lady Colin Campbell, Kewark's background was known but kept quiet by a family that was full of Europeans descended from royalty.
Naomi Watts stars as the famed princess in the upcoming biopic Diana, which covers the details of the last years of Diana's life, before her fatal car crash in 1997. The movie also takes a look at Diana's relationship with surgeon Dr. Hasnat Khan.
The film is scheduled for release in theaters on Sept. 20.
