Kate Middleton, Duchess Catherine of Cambridge, has an ancestor in Irish hero Brian BoruGetty images
Today, April 23, Kate Middleton, aka Catherine the Duchess of Cambridge, and her husband Prince William announced the birth of their third child, a boy. Celebrating the happy news we take a look back at the Duchess' surprising Irish roots.
Britain’s Queen in waiting Kate Middleton is related to Irish warrior Brian Boru – and singer Chris de Burgh.
The Irish connections of the Duchess of Cambridge were unveiled in London’s House of Commons in 2013. Website TheJournal.ie reported that the connections were unveiled at an event attended by British Prime Minister David Cameron and his Irish counterpart Enda Kenny.
Keen to promote The Gathering a few years ago, Tourism Ireland chiefs announced details of their research which traces Katie’s Irish roots all the way back to the warrior who fought the Vikings in the Battle of Clontarf.
The tourism body said that genealogists’ research shows that Prince William’s wife has connections through the Lupton family from Yorkshire with the Fitzmaurices, a noble family from Co Kerry.
The Fitzmaurices have links back to Brian Boru, the first High King of Ireland.
Read more: The Kate Middleton effect pushes Irish designer Orla Kiely’s sales over $15 million
The news came as Tourism Ireland rolled out an initiative inviting members of the British House of Commons and House of Lords to explore their Irish family connections.
The move came as 2013 was named "Ireland's Family History." Tourism Ireland chief Niall Gibbons said: “The history, culture and family links between Ireland and Great Britain stretch back generations.”
Recent reports have confirmed that Middleton is also related to Irish singer Chris de Burgh and his model daughter Rosanna Davidson.
A PDF of the Duchess’s family connections to Ireland can be viewed here.
* Originally published in 2013.