I am going to have a little fun today with genealogy. On a cold and rainy day I may grab the genealogy charts I have and trace various royals both past and present through various lines just to see how they are related to other dynasties and other obscure royals. Okay, I lied. I don’t always wait for a rainy day to do this because I have no life!! LOL!

My starting point was Prince William of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge. He is a descendent of a minor German Countess, Maria of Loon-Heinsberg (1426-1502). Countess Maria was the daughter of Count Johann I of Loon-Heinsberg and Countess Margaret of Solms-Braunfels. She married Count Engelbert I of Nassau and they had 6 children including Count Johann IV of Nassau Vianden-Dietz. Through her descendants the line snakes through the Counts of Nassau to reach Prince Willem I, Prince of Orange, Stadholder of the Netherlands, and the direct ancestor of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. From Willlem I the line goes through the Hohenzollerns of Brandenburg and Prussia who would eventually become kings of Prussia and German Emperors. The line continues through the German House of Württemberg to Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia who married King George I of the Hellenes and they are the paternal grandparents of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and the paternal grandfather of Prince William of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge.

I did this in a random fashion and went through either the female line or the male line arbitrarily. If I had gone in a different direction I would have ended up with some different. Here is the line, starting with the Duke of Cambridge and going back until we reach Countess Maria of Loon-Heinsberg 17 generations later.

Prince William of Wales, Duke of Cambridge 1982-
Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales 1948-
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 1921-
Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark 1882-1944
Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia 1851-1926
Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg 1830-1911
Duchess Amelia of Württemberg 1799-1848
Duke Ludwig of Württemberg 1756-1819
Margravine Friederike of Brandenburg-Schwedt 1736-1798
Margrave Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Schwedt 1700-1771
Margrave Philipp Wilhelm of Brandenburg-Schwedt 1669-1711
Elector Friedrich Wilhelm of Brandenburg, Duke of Prussia 1620-1688
Princess Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate 1597-1660
Princess Louise Juliana of Orange-Nassau 1576-1644
Prince Willem I, Prince of Orange, 1533-1584
Count Willem I of Nassau-Dillenburg 1487-1559
Count Johann V of Nassau-Vianden-Dietz 1455-1516
Countess Maria of Loon-Heinsberg 1426-1502