From Whence We Came...

Family history is legacy. Archived here are different family histories and lineage charts of various ancestors. There are, also, articles and stories pertaining to the families both associated with and connected to the Plantagenet and Tudor lines, which, eventually, all come together. If you wish to submit your family history, lineage charts, family crests, and other information or photos, proven to connect to royalty and/or nobility, please submit same to info@kingrichard3.com You will retain your own copyright.

If you believe you are related to the royals and nobles of the British Isles, you very well may be. There are millions of people here in the United States and across the pond who can claim royal blood. However, people who claim kinship to Richard iii may not be aware that the former King of England had no direct descendants as his heirs died young and without issue. Of course, kinship is still possible, having to come from any number of individuals from the Plantagenet and Tudor lines.

The Coat of Arms represented in the Heraldry section belong to Kings, Knights, Earls, Barons, Lords, and their families.

The Edwards clan descends from Welsh ancestors of the Tudor line such as Padarn Beisrudd (320 AD), Coel Hen (subject of the nursery rhyme "Old King Cole"), Tudur ap Goronwy, who married Elen Ferch Tomas, mother of Owain Glyndwr, and the Kings Henry VII and VIII. A majority of Edwards family members in America, more than likely, descend from Richard Edwardes, who is alledged to be the biological, though illegitimate, son of Henry VIII through one of Henry's mistresses, Agnes Blewitt, wife of William Edwards, a member of the court of Henry VIII.

The Plantagenet and Tudor lines exist today and we can find the majority of both Brits and Americans descended from one or both lines. The Plantagenet line remains fully active with the current Duke of Somerset. According to Dr. Turi King, from the University of Leicester Department of Genetics, the lady who did the DNA testing on the bones of Richard III, "Indeed, we're all related to Richard, it's simply a matter of degree...this is easy to calculate. If one of Richard's siblings had two children who survived to adulthood, who then went on to have two children and so on, over, for example, 20 generations (220), then this means that they would have some 1,048,576 descendants alive today (provided there was no intermarrying between relatives). If you allow for the average medieval family size of 2.3, then this results in 17,161,558 descendants."

Then there is the open question of "legitimacy." Scientists say they have found a broken link in the Y-chromosome, paternal bloodline of Richard III, which could go back to the time of John of Gaunt, son of King Edward III, although Gaunt, it would seem, appears to have been cleared by some reports of any illicit wrongdoing. While much of the who, when, and how remains speculative, the proven fact is that there is a definite break in the paternal line of Richard III. What this means is that Richard, his brother, King Edward IV, (himself said to have been illegitimate) Henry VII and Henry VIII, among others, and even down to the Windsors who are part of the Tudor line, might all be illegitimate heirs to the throne of England, amazing as it may be. However, until such is proven beyond a reasonable doubt, it would only matter, then, to the history books and to the legacies.

As history and heritage should remain an important part of personal lives just as some have followed their heritage from the earliest of times, today it has become the "in" thing to trace ones heritage and ancestors, connecting the dots has brought people of the world closer together by virtue of the ties that bind to a single, common ancestor.

Although having royal blood does not a King nor Queen make, what it does make is a world more cognizant of family and roots borne of once-great leaders, good and bad, who have helped to create both the present population and the shaping the world. Those dearly departed whose very presence continues to bleed through our veins are an integral part of who we are which is a foremost reason why history should never be denigrated or erased from our existence. The past is always present...in our memories and in historical records. It is our past that has brought us to this point in time. We should never forget from whence we came because of our past we are given the chance to correct many errors from long ago or to refashion our lives accordingly. Lastly, we all are from God, connected to each other by creation.

By clicking on the button below, you will be taken to the personal genealogy charts of particular family members.