Relationships
Princess Eugenie and her fiancé are actually related – here's how
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank’s October 12 wedding is fast approaching.
And now, it has been revealed that the lovebirds are actually distant cousins, sharing an ancestor on Eugenie’s mum Fergie’s side of the family.
Eugenie and Jack share an ancestor who was the 2nd Earl of Leicester, 19th century aristocrat Thomas William Coke.
The connection makes the couple third cousins once removed.
Their family history was first uncovered by Business Insider on ancestry site Peerage.com.
On Eugenie’s mum’s side of the family, the Earl is her great-great-great-great grandfather.
However, the Earl is also Jack’s great-great grandfather, from his second marriage to Georgina Caroline Cavendish.
As Jack is a descendant from the Earl’s second marriage, there are fewer generations in between.
Although the connection between the two may sound a bit strange, it is not the first time that a royal married a distant relative.
The Queen and Prince Philip are third cousins via Queen Victoria.
Eugenie, who is the Queen’s granddaughter and ninth-in-line to the throne, will say “I do” to Jack in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.
Will you be watching Princess Eugenie's wedding on Friday night? Let us know in the comments below.