Royal Roots

In recent weeks, I've become entranced with television shows about geneaology. In some of these programs, celebrities trace their heritage and are surprised and delighted to find images and documents related to their ancestors. (Queen Noor of Jordan, born plain old American Lisa Halaby, was stunned to find numerous newspaper articles about her grandfather, a turn-of-the-century immigrant merchant.)

How different it must be for princesses whose royal and aristocratic lineages are documented for generations and generations and generations. I'm sure many of them are proud of their heritage and wish to honor it (witness Princess Beatrice's brief appearance in the recent film "The Young Victoria" about her great-great-great-great grandmother), but I wonder if they are as excited to discover their roots as we ordinary folks.

Just for fun, this week, I thought I'd take you on a photo tour of Queen Elizabeth II's recent ancestors. (Generations 1-5 are wedding day pics!)

Generation 1
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Greece (The Duke of Edinburgh)

Generation 2
King George VI and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (The Queen Mother)

Generation 3
King George V and Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (Queen Mary)

Generation 4
King Edward VII and Princess Alix of Denmark (Queen Alexandra)

Notice that the mother of the groom, Queen Victoria (seated) is staring at a bust of her late husband.

Generation 5
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg

Generation 6
Prince Edward The Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg

(I'm very conscientious about photo royalties and copyright in general, so apologies for not being able to find a usable image of the Duke but I think getting to see Baby Queen Victoria makes up for it!)

Generation 7
King George III