So True? So False? Is Kate Middleton Related to George Washington…and Ellen DeGeneres?!

New book from genealogical society claims that Prince William's bride-to-be is connected to some fairly iconic Americans. Is it true?

By Gina Serpe Mar 31, 2011 3:20 PMTags
Kate Middleton, George Washington, Ellen DeGeneresJohn Shearer/WireImage.com; NC; Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Now wouldn't this be ironic—if the woman largely responsible for modernizing the monarchy was related to the same man who led a revolution to be done with it?

A new report suggests as much, theorizing that Kate Middleton is related to our own founding father George Washington. Oh say can you see the resemblance?

And not only that, the same report claims that the future heir producer is also related to comedy founding mother Ellen DeGeneres. Which you'd think would make for quite the patriotic joke machine. But does it instead make for the perfect bride-to-be for the future king of England? And is it too late to try and take a dip in that gene pool?

Is Prince William's ladylove really related to these American heavyweights? Hold on to your hats fascinators, this rumor is…

So true! Score one for the Yanks!

The New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston has published a new book all about Kate's ancestry, and it turns out, Middleton's family tree has some pretty high-reaching branches.

Starting, of course, with George Washington, to whom the British beauty is the eighth cousin seven times removed.

Incidentally, her patriotic ties don't end there, as she's also a cousin of Francis Scott Key, who, any third grader who's been paying attention in their social studies class can tell you, penned "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Though "God Save the Queen" is probably the national anthem most concerning Kate these days.

As for that Ellen DeGeneres tie—well, that too is legit, as Middleton was found to be the funny lady's 14th cousin twice removed. Though, incidentally, the connection makes Middleton only slightly less related to the talk show host than she is to her future husband.

It turns out that Prince William is marginally connected to Kate, as she is the 14th cousin once removed to her fiancé (kinda brings new meaning to "kissing cousins").

Turns out that you, too, can possibly stake a claim at a relation, as Middleton's family tree stretches to include seven families who immigrated to Virginia during the late 1600s, and who went on to become largely working class laborers.

So what does that mean?

According to the genealogical society's marketing director Tom Champoux, it means that "tens of thousands of everyday Americans" are distant cousins of Middleton.

So keep checking that mailbox for an invite.