Royal blood runs deeper than you think.
When you think about the Royal Family tree, it's extensive. The current Queen's great-great-great-grandfather, King George III, had 15 children. His granddaughter, who eventually won his throne, Queen Victoria, had nine children. Her son, King Edward VII, had six, as did his son, King George V. The Queen's father, King George VI, only had her and her sister, Princess Margaret, but The Queen herself has four children.
Most of these children went on to marry either sons and daughters of the British nobility or other members of royal families all over the world. Queen Victoria's children alone married into pretty much all of the royal families in Europe. The Queen herself was married to Prince Phillip, her third cousin through Queen Victoria. So you can see that there are tons of people who can trace their roots back to any of these royal children and therefore hold some royal blood.
So when Prince Charles married Diana Spencer, it wasn't hard to guess that she was a right fit for the heir to the throne, not only because she was untainted and unmarried, but because she was of noble blood, who had common royal ancestors.
But how exactly are they related? They're not exactly as close in blood as the Queen and Prince Phillip, but they do share some ancestors.
They're 16th Cousins
Diana grew up in the family estate in Northhamptonshire, close to the royal residence Sandringham. They met three years before they got married in 1981, at a pheasant shoot at Diana's family home, after crossing paths as neighbors.
According to the Washington Post, Diana's family has been part of the British nobility since the 18th century. The first Earl Spencer's daughter, Lady Georgiana Spencer, married William Cavendish, 5th Duke of Devonshire. They made a movie about it called The Duchess, starring Keira Knightley. She's also a descendant of the war hero, the Duke of Marlborough, and related to Sir Winston Churchill.
She has other royal roots as well. Find My Past writes, "Diana is descended from not one, but two illegitimate children of King Charles II of England: Henry Fitzroy and Charles Lennox, via two of her great-grandmothers, Adelaide Seymour and Rosalind Bingham. This means that Diana’s royal family tree stretches back through the ages of both English and Scottish history."
Diana's family has had ties with the Royal Family for years. Her father, the eighth Earl Spencer, served as equerry to Prince Charles' grandfather, King George VI, and Queen Elizabeth, her younger brother's godmother. Diana's grandfather Albert was also a godson of King Edward VII.
Prince Charles and Diana's blood relations go all the way back to Tudor England, however. They're specifically related through the Tudor King Henry VII, making them 16th cousins once removed. They come from lines of two of King Henry VII's daughters, "Margaret, who married James IV of Scotland, and Mary, who married Charles Brandon." So, therefore, through Margaret, who married James IV of Scotland, Diana was a descendant of Mary, Queen of Scots.
She and Prince Charles were also related through William Cavendish, the 3rd Duke of Devonshire, as 7th cousins once removed.
It's crazy when you actually look at the lines merging. So many monarchs have passed through their family trees.
Prince Charles Is Also Related To His Second Wife
If you've only watched The Crown, you'll know that Prince Charles' first love was Camilla Parker Bowles. She wasn't suitable to marry the heir to the throne, so Prince Charles married Diana. Even during the marriage, Prince Charles had an affair with Camilla and later married her in 2005.
Ironically, Camilla’s great-grandmother was Prince Charles’ great-grandfather, King Edward VII’s mistress.
Besides this, they are related by blood dating back as far as the 17th century, through Henry Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Newcastle, which makes them ninth cousins once removed.
Oddly enough, both Prince Charles' sons are also related to their wives. Before marrying, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle found out that they're related. Elle wrote that they are "distant cousins through a late 15th Century ancestor of Markle’s father and the Queen Mother named Ralph Bowes, the High Sheriff of County Durham."
Meanwhile, Prince William and Kate Middleton are 11th cousins once removed through Sir William Blakiston, a Baronet. The Sun also reported that they are also connected through Sir Thomas Leighton, a soldier, and politician, Middleton's 11th generation great-grandfather, and Prince William’s 12th.
According to a Channel 4 news report, they are also tied through other royals. "Her [Middleton] great-great-grandmother, Frances Elizabeth Greenhow, was the 10 x great-granddaughter of Sir William Gascoigne, a Yorkshire knight who died in 1487. He married Lady Margaret Percy, 4th and youngest daughter of Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland," Patrick Cracroft-Brennan explained.
"The Earl descended from King Edward III through both his parents. Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana both descend from Sir William Gascoigne and his wife, Lady Margaret. This makes William and Kate fourteenth cousins once removed through his mother and fifteenth cousins through his father."
So if this isn't proof that everyone is related somehow, we don't know what is. Bloodlines, in general, can get confusing, but it seems as if everyone has a little royal blood in them.