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Boris's royal roots revealed: descended from George II
Katharine Barney, Evening Standard4 Aug 2008
The Mayor has spoken of his fear of being seen as a "foreign toff" after being revealed as a relative of the royal family and a collection of German nobles.
Boris Johnson discovered he was descended from King George II through the king's illegitimate great-great-great grandaughter.
Mr Johnson is related to George II by his paternal grandmother Irene Williams, nicknamed "Granny Butter" in the family.
Her great grandparents were Baron Charles de Pfeffel, a minor noble in southern Germany, and Karoline von Rottenburg.
Von Rottenburg was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Paul von Wurttermberg - who was the great-great grandson of King George, the British monarch for 33 years from 1727.
The Mayor's royal antecedents are revealed in an episode of the BBC documentary Who do You Think You Are? broadcast later this month. Mr Johnson said: "One of the mysteries of my childhood was just how posh was Granny Butter? Was she really a French toff like she'd told us?"
Mr Johnson has described himself as a "one-man melting point" and in an interview with the Radio Times he said: "I know it looks like I'm some kind of foreign toff, which is not necessarily good PR. It is interesting to look at how British I can feel and yet, actually, what a mongrel composition I really am."
Reader views (4)
What was interesting was the untold story. Caroline didn't want to marry the man her father had chosen. She went to her "uncle King" to stop the marriage. He'd didn't give her an income but a canteen of silver. Then she was married to de Charles de Pfeffel, who at the same time was raised to the Bavarian nobility. So the real story is that Caroline was pregnant by her lover, her uncle gives her a valuable wedding present & arranges for the man who marries her to be ennoble. Is Boris descended from Caroline's first born, in which case he might not be a de Pfeffel at all. What is clear is that his ancestors were both journalists & administrators - blood will out Boris!
- Chris Burgess Hill, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, 21/08/2008 21:41
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I think it's rather interesting and just goes to show that most of us, genetically speaking, are somehow birds of the same feather. Think of the three cousins that were so closely related ... King Georg, Kaiser Willy and Nicolas the II. They should have been able to prevent the first World War from happening, but, again, the politicians in the countries involved got it all wrong.
- Wernli Paul, Richmond, B.C. Canada, 08/08/2008 05:32
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We all always knew that Boris is top class stock and it shows as he continues mending the terrible damage wrought by Ken.
- Mikko Takala, Drumnadrochit, Scotland, 05/08/2008 12:11
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Wurtemburg to Rottenburg; In the same way as the Battenburgs became Mountbattens. It's probably a statistical fact that everyone ten ancestors back is related in some way to royalty. Johnson is trying to play up his multi heritage but no matter how hard he tries he fails.
- Dhanraj, basildon, essex, 04/08/2008 14:45
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