If a report of Ancestry.com is to be believed, actress Elle and Dakota Fanning are distant cousins of Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William. Elle Fanning plays the role of Princess Aurora in the soon to be released film Maleficent. Dakota is known for her role in the Steven Spielberg movie War of the Worlds starring Tom Cruise. She played the role of Cruise’s daughter in that sci-fi film.
When the researchers traced their ancestries seven centuries back, they found a connection between Kate and Elle. Both their families have been associated with King Edward III and it was concluded that both Elle and her elder sister Dakota are indeed the descendants of the king. However, they are not the only celebrities to have a royal connection as Ellen DeGeneres is also a distant cousin of the royals from England.
King Edward III ruled England from the year 1327 to 1377. England fought their 100 years of war against France during this king’s reign. If it is proven that King Edward was the 22nd great-grandfather, they can proudly call themselves princesses. They have a connection to Kate through the King Edward I who was also known as ‘Longshanks’. This king was the grandfather of Edward III and was also responsible for the Scottish revolt.
It took the team from Ancestry.com a lot of effort to come up with this information. They had to sift through a whopping seven centuries of census records apart from the numerous amounts of burial records, birth and death certificates. What is even more significant is the fact that Carole the mother of Kate Middleton is in fact the grand daughter of King Edward III. A family historian from Ancestry.com spoke about the effort it took and the authenticity of their work.