The Queen's Irish ancestry
Dr. Mark Humphrys
Dublin City University
humphrysfamilytree.com
Genealogy versus History
History: Important topics.
"In the late 1930s,
Winston Churchill became the leader of those in British politics
opposed to appeasement of Hitler."
Genealogy: Of no importance? Bizarre curiosities?
"In the 12th century,
one of Winston Churchill's several million ancestors
was a minor knight at the Siege of Jerusalem."
Of no importance?
"If that minor knight had died at the Siege of Jerusalem in 1187,
Churchill (and many other people) could never have existed."
Example: Bush descends from Strongbow
The Guardian in
2005 discovers that
George W. Bush (born 1946)
descends from
Strongbow (died 1176), invader of Ireland.
Genealogy facts are not well-known
Newspaper:
(Some modern figure) is directly descended from (Some ancient figure).
Genealogists:
Yes, we know.
Historians:
We're not interested.
Today's example:
The Irish ancestry of the Queen is well-known to genealogists but not known to the public.
The Queen's genealogy
Royal Highness: Ancestry of the Royal Child, Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk, London, 1982.
Looking at the vast amount of known ancestry for Prince William.
So is it all German / House of Hanover / Stuart?
Brian Boru and the English Royals
Brian Boru, High King of Ireland
(killed 1014)
is the ancestor of every English monarch since
Henry IV (succeeded 1399).
This is through the marriage in 1171 of
Aoife MacMurrough
(daughter of Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster)
and Richard de Clare, "Strongbow", 2nd Earl of Pembroke (the Invader of Ireland).
The Marriage of Princess Aoife of Leinster with the Norman Richard de Clare (Strongbow)
by
Daniel Maclise (1854).
Invasion of Ireland: 1169.
Aoife marries Strongbow
in 1171.
In the 1200s, their descendants marry English nobility.
In the 1300s, their descendants marry English royalty.
All English royalty from 1399 on descends from them.
Brian Boru is ancestor of House of York
Descent of the House of York from Aoife and Strongbow (and hence from Brian Boru).
From
The Royal Line of Succession
by Patrick W. Montague-Smith (1972).
So Brian Boru is ancestor of all monarchs below Henry VII.
How about Henry VII himself?
He descends from Aoife too, through his mother.
How about the House of Lancaster?
Covered too. See the following.
Brian Boru is ancestor of Henry IV
Every monarch from
Henry IV on (1399) descends from Aoife and Strongbow and Brian Boru.
Ancestry of
Blanche of Lancaster,
mother of Henry IV.
Maud FitzJohn descends from Aoife and Strongbow and Brian Boru.
Henry VIII, descendant of Brian Boru.
Elizabeth I, descendant of Brian Boru.
Queen Victoria, descendant of Brian Boru.
Elizabeth II, descendant of Brian Boru.
Butler, Duke of Ormonde and Butler, Earl of Ormond
Queen Elizabeth II descends from the great medieval Irish house of Butler.
The Queen descends through
Bowes-Lyon
and Lyon
and
Stanhope
from
Elizabeth Butler,
dau of
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde (died 1688).
The 1st Duke of Ormonde
descends from the 8th Earl of Ormond.
See the following.
Elizabeth II has other descents from earlier Earls of Ormond.
MacMurrough-Kavanagh, King of Leinster
Through Butler the Queen descends from
Donal Reagh MacMurrough-Kavanagh, King of Leinster (died 1476).
The Queen descends from the 1st Duke of Ormonde (died 1688)
who descends from
Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond (died 1539)
who
is son of
Sir James Butler
by his wife Sabh MacMurrough-Kavanagh,
daughter of Donal Reagh MacMurrough-Kavanagh, King of Leinster (died 1476).
Extract from The Complete Peerage.
O'Reilly, Lord of East Breifne
The Butlers had another intermarriage with an old Irish family.
The Queen descends from
Sir James Butler (died 1487).
Sir James Butler descends from
Sir Richard Butler
and his wife
Catherine O'Reilly,
daughter of Gildas O'Reilly, Lord of East Breifne (Cavan, 1300s).
From
Burke's Peerage.
O'Brien marries with Anglo-Irish and English families
O'Brien, Baron of Inchiquin, are an ancient Irish family.
Descendants of
O'Brien, King of Thomond.
In the early 1500s they started inter-marrying with Anglo-Irish families.
The Boyle link here is a case study in how English families can end up descended from them.
Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh.
Mary O'Brien, daughter of Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron of Inchiquin,
married
Michael Boyle, Archbishop of Armagh (born 1609,
descendant of Boyle of Herefordshire).
They are ancestors of the Queen.
O'Brien, King of Thomond
Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron of Inchiquin
(ancestor of the Queen)
is male-line descendant of
Murrough O'Brien, the last King of Thomond,
and the 1st Earl of Thomond (died 1551),
who is male-line descendant of
O'Brien, Kings of Thomond
who are
male-line descendants of Brian Boru.
Nugent, Baron Delvin
Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron of Inchiquin (ancestor of the Queen)
descends from
Christopher Nugent, 5th Baron Delvin (died 1602)
and his wife Mary Fitzgerald,
daughter of
Gerald Fitzgerald, 11th Earl of Kildare (died 1585).
The seat of Nugent, Baron Delvin,
was Delvin Castle, Co.Westmeath.
Christopher Nugent, 5th Baron Delvin,
is thought to have written a primer on the Irish language (above)
presented to Queen Elizabeth I in 1564.
Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond
The Queen descends
from the great Munster family of Fitzgerald, Earl of Desmond.
As shown above, the Queen descends from
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde,
and hence from
James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond
by his wife Joan Fitzgerald,
daughter of
James Fitzgerald, 10th Earl of Desmond (died 1529).
A sculpture of
Gerald Fitzgerald, 3rd Earl of Desmond (died 1398).
Known as
"Gearóid Iarla", he wrote poetry in Irish.
Sculpture outside Desmond Hall, Newcastle West, Co.Limerick.
Ancestor of the Queen.
The rebel James FitzMaurice Fitzgerald
As shown above,
the Queen descends from
Dermod O'Brien, 5th Baron of Inchiquin (died 1624)
and his wife
Ellen Fitzgerald.
Ellen is
descendant of the rebel
James FitzMaurice Fitzgerald.
James FitzMaurice led the first of the Desmond Rebellions in 1569.
He went into exile in continental Europe 1575.
Returned with an invasion force in June 1579, starting the Second Desmond Rebellion.
He was killed in battle, 18 Aug 1579.
Signature of James FitzMaurice Fitzgerald.
From his submission at
Kilmallock, Co.Limerick,
on 23 Feb 1573.
Ancestor of the Queen.
List of Irish uprisings
Consider the Wikipedia
List of Irish uprisings.
We can link the Queen to the Irish side in
6 of the first 8 Irish uprisings!
The first book ever printed in Irish
Cover page of
the first book ever printed in Irish,
"Aibidil Gaoidheilge agus Caiticiosma"
(1571).
Printed by
John Ussher (born 1524) of Donnybrook, Co.Dublin
("Sheón uiser aldarman" above).
John Ussher is ancestor of the Queen.
The Queen's most recent Irish-born ancestor
The Viceregal Lodge
(now
Aras an Uachtarain).
Where the Queen's ancestor Marquess Wellesley lived when he was
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 1821-1828 and 1833-1834.
In contrast to many Lords Lieutenant,
he was actually born in Ireland.
From
Wikimedia Commons.
The 1st Marquess Wellesley
entertaining at the Viceregal Lodge.
Carlow Morning Post, October 11, 1834.
Leaving Ireland in 1834
The 1st Marquess Wellesley
and his wife leave Ireland.
Tralee Mercury, December 6, 1834.
He died in 1842 in London.
His descendant the Queen was born in 1926.
Is the Queen English? German? Scottish? Irish?
Elizabeth II
and the Royal family
are often called "German".
Does that make any sense?
Elizabeth II was born in England.
Her father George VI born in England.
His father George V born in England.
His father Edward VII born in England.
His mother Victoria born in England.
Her father Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, born in England.
His father George III born in England.
His father Frederick, Prince of Wales, born in Hanover (in 1707).
Following the
line of succession (which is what we did above)
makes the Queen look very
English.
If you follow the spouses on her father's side,
she looks very
German.
If you follow her mother's side,
she looks
Scottish, English and
Anglo-Irish.
Often how we view our ancestry and identity is a choice
Conclusion - What does this mean?
We have shown many descents of the Queen from Irish and Anglo-Irish families.
Even from rebels.
In fact, Ireland is littered with her ancestral homes and her ancestors' tombs.
So what does this mean?
Should we change our views?
-
These descents are facts, independent of any conclusions.
These are facts that are well-known to genealogists,
but that popular culture ignores,
preferring to believe a simpler narrative about the past instead.
-
This list of descents challenges a popular narrative about who the Queen is
(English, plus German, and definitely not Irish).
-
It challenges who her ancestors are in the Middle Ages
and the Early modern period
(the English Royal family at the time,
and definitely not their Irish allies and adversaries).
-
When
James FitzMaurice Fitzgerald
is in rebellion against
Elizabeth I in 1579,
does the Queen identify with Elizabeth I (who is not her ancestor)
or with James FitzMaurice Fitzgerald (who is)?
The Queen descends from Elizabeth I's aunt.
- A question for all of us:
When you descend from a mix, who do you identify with?
All of us probably descend from a mix. Just some of us know it.
If you travel back to 1400,
which of your ancestors will you identify with?
Barack Obama visits his ancestral homeland, May 2011.
The Queen visits her ancestral homeland, May 2011.
All descents in detail at:
humphrysfamilytree.com
In particular at:
humphrysfamilytree.com/Ireland
Dr. Mark Humphrys
