The English Royal family
This is (as explained
not much more than just an extended Ancestors Chart for myself and my wife,
included only to provide continuity with my later pages.
I do not research
the genealogy of the English Royal family
(and have no plans to ever research it).
Mostly I link to other people's work, notably the work of
- Sources yet to be consulted:
All the old Western lines really form
one vast Western family tree.
How far back this tree can be taken is still a matter under investigation.
- "Descent from Adam"
For centuries genealogists tried to trace western descents back to the alleged
However, we know since Darwin's time that Adam did not exist
and humanity's evolutionary origins
are quite different.
is fictional too.
We know from many branches of science that The Flood never happened.
Many biblical figures may be legendary.
There is no evidence outside the Bible for the existence of
None of them appear in extra-biblical history.
(9th century BC)
is the first ruler of Ancient Israel to appear in extra-biblical history.
later biblical characters
clearly existed, but there is
no known descent
In fact, even the search for such makes no sense until western genealogies can be brought back to any time BC.
- "Descent from Antiquity"
In terms of real, historic descents, the challenge remains to get a proven
western descent from the
late Roman period
(5th century AD).
- Currently, the earliest that western lines may be traced to
is perhaps the
Irish royal line
in the early 5th century AD.
(A time when the late Roman Empire existed, but Ireland was not part of it.)
"No families, not even the Royal Houses, can make a sound claim to bridge the chasm of the Dark Ages
and establish a proven connection with the period of the later Roman Empire.
Efforts made to give
a late Roman ancestor are not substantiated."
- Ancient Roman family trees
- Ancient Egyptian family trees
Western Roman Emperor
(deposed 476 AD).
Coin sold at auction 2004
The English Royal line
left Britain by 410 AD.
Cerdic, first King of the West Saxons
who arrived in Britain 495 AD,
is generally accepted as the historical start of the British Royal line in England.
His descent from Woden
and then from Bedwig
is regarded as legend.
We begin the English Royal line with the Norman
invaders of England (1066)
and Ireland (1169):
Eystein, Jarl of the Uplanders
of Norway, born 788 AD, had issue:
Ragnvald Eysteinsson, had issue:
Rolf the Ganger, 1st Duke of Normandy
born 846, had issue:
William I Longsword, 2nd Duke of Normandy,
had affair with Adela
[descendant of Charlemagne]
and had issue:
Richard, 3rd Duke of Normandy,
- Richard, 4th Duke of Normandy, had issue:
- Robert the Devil, 6th Duke of Normandy,
had affair with Harlotte of Falaise
[tanner's daughter, the original Harlot]
and had issue:
- William the Conqueror.
- Godfrey, had issue:
- Gilbert, Count of Brionne, had issue:
- Richard FitzGilbert de Clare, born 1035.
- William, Count of Eu,
- Robert, Count of Eu, had issue:
- William Hastings, Count of Eu.