The Royal Salisbury connection

Funny thing this family history ‘research’. One minute you are looking to find how one person might be related to another and next thing you find out is that the Elizabeth II Windsor, Queen of the United Kingdom is your grandfather’s sixth cousin, making me 7th cousin to Will and Harry – wish I known this when I was at school with their uncles Andrew and Edward.

I’d mentioned before in my A descent from trade: a tale of misplaced snobbery! post how how my grandfather Claude (Alfred Reginald Claude Kirby) used to stay with his aunt Connie (Constance Mary Bagge, née Baxendale) in the school holidays. Connie married Thomas Edward Bagge, and his grandmother was Grace Salisbury (daughter of Richard Salisbury from Castle Park, Lancashire. So I was wondering if these Salisbury are related to my ancestor Mabella Salisbury (Spinster of Lancaster) who married Josiah Baxendale (Surgeon of Lancaster) in 1784 St Mary, Lancaster (see Baxendale ancestors here):

A Right Royal Bastard?

I just found a society for Descendants of the Illegitimate Sons and Daughters of the Kings of Britain (The Royal Bastards). As mentioned in my Descendant of King Henry VII: blue blood? post, I discover that I’m one of the many many many Descendants of King Henry VII of England on the extensive list put together by Paul Theroff (see below). Funny thing was I found out by accident as my great aunt’s name was Valda Mary Kirby and there were only a few Google citations for her including one on Paul Theroff’s site.

Not sure that I’m prepared to pay 300 bucks for the privilege of joining the Royal Bastards society despite apparently being eligible in principle through descent from Robert Stewart 1st Earl of Orkney, the natural son of James V King of Scots and his mistress Eupheme Elphinstone … call me old fashioned but for 300 bucks they should do the research for you, but had to smile when I saw them state that “admission to the Royal Bastards is considered an achievement of great merit by amateur and professional genealogists alike”!!!

Table of descent from Cerdic to me?

I found this Table of descent from Cerdic to Elizabeth on the Wikipedia : showing “the descent of Elizabeth II from Egbert, traditionally regarded as first King of England, and before that from Cerdic, founder of the House of Wessex“. Apparently, “there are several breaks in the line of descent, but the hereditary succession has never been entirely broken”. Well, I wish I’d known all this when I shared a dormitory with her son at Gordonstoun. I could have used the table to show how I’m also a descendant of Cerdic, but via a branch that heads off in a rather different direction after James IV, King of Scots:

Descendant of King Henry VII: blue blood?

It’s been amazing how one thing has led to another during my ongoing research into my family history. So one minute I’m trying to find out about my great aunt Valda Mary who died in Palembang, Sumatra, during the last war. Next thing I discover that I’m one of the many many many Descendants of King Henry VII of England (see below) on the extensive list put together by Paul Theroff. I’m not actually included as yet, but looks like I’ll be indexed as 4.3.4.7.6.1.5.2.5.4.1.1.2.2.4.1.1.5 once I get Paul the updated info on my family.