Katharine Hepburn won her fourth Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen consort of King Henry II of England, in Anthony Harvey's The Lion in Winter (1968). But did you know that she was actually a direct descendant of Eleanor and Henry II, who were, in «technical terms,» her 23rd great-grandparents? Here's another interesting fact: Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine were also direct ancestors of Olivia de Havilland, Joan Fontaine, Humphrey Bogart and Laurence Olivier via their great-grandson, King Edward I of England, whose children originated the blood lines from which all of these actors (including Kate) descended. This means that Kate, Olivia, Joan, Bogie and Larry are all somehow related.
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| King Edward I of England was Katharine Hepburn's 20th great-grandfather. |
Edward I (1239-1307) married Eleanor of Castile (1241-1290) in 1254 and together they had at least fourteen children. Their youngest son, future King Edward II of England, originated Larry's lineage, while their youngest daughter, Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, gave way to Olivia, Joan and Bogie's generation. Kate, on the other hand, descended from their daughter Joan of Acre (1272-1307), whose name derives from her birthplace of Acre in the Kingdom of Jerusalem (now in modern Israel), while her parents were on a crusade. At the time of Joan's birth, her grandfather, Henry III, was still alive and thus her father was not yet king of England.
Via his father, Edward I was a 4th great-grandson to William the Conqueror, who became the first Norman monarch of England after defeating the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. William's wife, Matilda of Flanders, was a direct descendant of both Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons, and Charlemagne, King of the Franks.
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| LEFT: Portrait at Westminster Abbey thought to be of Edward I. RIGHT: William the Conqueror as depicted in the Bayeux Tapestry during the Battle of Hastings. |
In 1290, Joan of Acre married Sir Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester (1243-1295). The
Clare family was a prominent Anglo-Norman noble house descended from
Richard fitz Gilbert, Lord of Clare, a kinsman of William the Conqueror
who accompanied him during the Norman conquest of England. Gilbert's grandfather and great-grandfather were Magna Carta sureties Gilbert de Clare and Richard de Clare. The
Magna Carta was a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of
England in 1215 to make peace between the unpopular monarch and a group
of 25 rebel barons, which included both Gilbert and Richard. Neither side
stood behind their commitments and the document ultimately failed as
peace treaty, leading to the First Barons' War.
Joan and Gilbert had four children, including daughter Margaret de Clare (1293-1342). When she was 14, she married Piers Gaveston, 1st Earl of Cornwall, the favourite (and possibly lover) of her great-uncle, King Edward II. Upon Gaveston's execution in 1312, Margaret married Hugh de Audley, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1291-1347), who became the English ambassador to France in 1341. Through his paternal grandmother, Ela Longespée, Hugh was a direct descendant of King Henry II via his illegitimate son, William Longespée, 3rd Earl of Salisbury.
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| LEFT: Probable portrait of Joan of Acre. MIDDLE: Gilbert de Clare on a stained glass window at Tewkesbury Abbey. RIGHT: Engraving from c. 1810 of Tonbridge Priory, where both Margaret de Clare and Hugh de Audley were buried. |
Margaret and Hugh had only one daughter, Margaret de Audley (c. 1318-1349), who was abducted by Ralph Stafford, 1st Earl of Stafford (1301-1372) as his second wife around 1336. He had helped King Edward III, Margaret's first cousin once removed, take the throne in 1327 and later achieved notability as a soldier during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. In 1348, Stafford became one of the founding members of the Order of the Garter, the most senior honour of knighthood in the British honours system.
The Stafford-Audley union produced two sons and four daughters, including Beatrice de Stafford (c. 1341-1415), whose second husband was Thomas of Ros, 4th Baron Ros of Helmsley (1335-1384). Thomas was a direct descendant of two Magna Carta sureties, Sir Robert de Ros and William D'Aubigny, two of the 25 barons who rebelled against the rule of King John.
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| LEFT: Illustration of Ralph of Stafford from the Bruges Garter Book (c. 1430). RIGHT: King John signing the Magna Carta (illustration by Arthur C. Michael, bef. 1945). |
Beatrice and Thomas's youngest child was a daughter named Margaret Ros (1365-1414), who married Sir Reynold Grey, 3rd Baron Grey of Ruthin (c. 1362-1440). He was a powerful Welsh Marcher Lord and a long-standing enemy of Owain Glyndŵr, the instigator of an uprising against King Henry IV of England between 1400 and 1415. Grey was a direct descendant of King Robert I of France and four of the 25 rebel barons who signed the Magna Carta: Robert Fitzwalter (the leader of the opposition), Henry de Bohun, Roger Bigod and his son, Hugh Bigod. Reynold Grey was also a probable descendant of Anchetile de Grey, one of the very few proven companions of William the Conqueror known to have fought at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
By Reynold, Margaret had six children, including daughter Margaret Grey (c. 1397-1426/7), who married Sir William Bonville, 1st Baron Bonville (1392-1461) in 1414. William fought in France in the later years of the Hundred Years' War, notably in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. During the Wars of the Roses, he sided with the Yorkist party, led by King Edward IV, and faced a crushing defeat at the Second Battle of St. Albans in 1461. He was subsequently captured and tried for treason by Queen consort Margaret of Anjou, who led the Lancastrian faction in the name of her husband, deposed King Henry VI, and was sentenced to death by beheading.
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| LEFT: Arms of Grey, illumination in the De Grey Hours, possibly written for the De Grey family of Ruthin (c. 1390). RIGHT: Depiction of the Second Battle of St. Albans. |
Margaret Grey and William Bonville had at least three children. Their daughter Elizabeth Bonville (c. 1425-1491) married William Tailboys, 7th Baron Kyme (c. 1416-1464) in 1458. He was a direct descendant of Magna Carta surety barons Sir Robert de Ros, Roger le Bigod and his son Hugh. He was also a descendant of Charlemagne and King Henry I of England via one of his many illegitimate daughters, Elizabeth FitzRoy. Tailboys supported the Lancastrian cause during the Wars of the Roses and also fought at the Second Battle of St. Albans. In 1464, he fought at the Battle of Hexham and escaped the field following a decisive Yorkist victory, taking with him £2,000 of Henry VI's war chest. He was captured by the Yorkists shortly thereafter and beheaded on the order of John Neville, 1st Marquess of Montagu.
By Tailboys, Elizabeth Bonville had two sons, including Sir Robert Tailboys, 8th Baron Kyme (c. 1451-1494/5). Around 1467, he married Elizabeth Heron (1449-1495), a descendant of William de Mowbray, another one of the 25 rebel barons and executors of the Magna Carta.
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| LEFT: Portrait of King Henry VI (c. 1540). MIDDLE: Plan for the Battle of Hexham. LEFT: The Mowbray coat of arms on a stained glass window in the Holy Trinity Church in Suffolk. |
Robert Tailboys and Elizabeth Heron had seven children, including their youngest daughter Maud Tailboys (c. 1482-1557). Around 1499, she married Sir Robert Tyrwhitt (c. 1482-1548), who served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire under King Henry VIII in 1520 and 1524. Robert was a descendant of Magna Carta garantors Richard and Gilbert de Clare, Roger and Hugh le Bigod, John de Lacy and Saher de Quincy, the latter a cousin of Robert Fitzwalter.
Maud and Robert were parents to three sons and six daughters, one of which was Katherine Tyrwhitt (1511-1590). She married Sir Richard Thimbleby (c. 1507-1590) around 1530. Through his 3rd paternal great-grandmother, Joan Tailboys, Richard was a direct descendant of Sir Henry Tailboys, great-grandfather of the aforementioned William Tailboys.
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| LEFT: Coat of arms of the Bigod family until 1269. MIDDLE: Engraving of Saher de Quincy (1851). RIGHT: Coat of Arms used by John de Lacy. |
Katherine and Richard had three sons and four daughters, including Elizabeth Thimbleby (1535-c. 1571). In 1560, she married her second husband, Thomas Welby (c. 1516-1570/71). Together, they were parents to at least two children, one of which was Richard Welby (1564-1609). In 1595, Richard married Frances Bulkeley (1567/68-1610), a descendant of both Charlemagne, King of the Franks, and Magna Carta surety Saher de Quincy. Frances's brother, Peter Bulkeley, sailed to the New World on the Susan & Ellin in 1635 during the Puritan Great Migration to escape religious persecution in England. He was one of the founders of the town of Concord, Massachusetts, and a direct ancestor of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
By Richard Welby, Frances Bulkeley had at least five sons and two daughters, included Olive Welby (1604-1691/2). In 1629, she married Henry Farwell (c. 1605-1670), a tailor by trade. Around 1636, the couple emigrated to America with their three older children and settled in Concord, where Henry was made a freeman in 1639. They later removed to Chelmsford, Massachusetts, at the incorporation of that town in 1655. Henry became a deacon of the Church in 1660.
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| LEFT: Portrait of Peter Bulkeley (1583-1659). RIGHT: The Winthrop Fleet arriving in Massachusetts Bay in 1630 (illustration by W. F. Halsall, 1914). |
Olive and Henry's youngest child was a daughter named Olive Farwell (c. 1645-c. 1706), who married Benjamin Spalding (1643-1713) in 1668. His father, Edward Spalding, had arrived in Jamestown, Virginia Colony in 1619 with Sir George Yeardley. He survived the Indian massacre of 1622 and was fully established with his family in the Virginia Colony by the following year. Around 1639, he moved to the Massachusetts Bay Colony, where he married his second wife. He was made a freeman at Braintree in 1640 and was one of the founders of Chelmsford in 1652.
Olive and Benjamin were parents to five children, including son Edward Spalding (1672-1740), In 1696, he married Mary Adams (1676-1754), whose grandfather, Thomas Adams, had
sailed to New England during the Puritan Great Migration in 1638. Thomas
first settled in Braintree, moved to Concord in 1646 and finally to Chelmsford
around 1654. He was from the same family that produced future U.S.
Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams.
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| LEFT: Settlers landing on the site of Jamestown, Virginia (c. 1607). RIGHT: John Adams, 2nd President of the United States (Katharine Hepburn's distant cousin). |
Edward and Mary resided at Chelmsford for some years, then settled in Canterbury, Connecticut. They had seven sons and three daughters together. Their second oldest son was named Ephraim Spalding (1700-1776) and he married Abigail Bullard (1704/5-1789) in 1723. Abigail's maternal great-grandfather, Arthur Warren, had emigrated with his family from England to Massachusetts Bay Colony around 1635, initially settling in Weymouth.
Ephraim and Abigail were parents to ten children, including a son named Oliver Spalding (1739-1795). He was a soldier in the French and Indian War, which opposed the colonies of British America and New France, each supported by its parent country and Native American allies. He made the campaign in 1759 with the Connecticut troops in New York. He also served as a Private in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War and took part in the Battles of Lexington and Concord in April 1775. He was discharged the following year.
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| LEFT: George Washington leading troops at the Battle of Monongahela on July 9, 1755 during the French and Indian War (painting from c. 1834). RIGHT: Depiction of the Battle of Lexington (painting by William Barnes Wollen, 1910). |
In 1762, Oliver Spalding married his first wife, Mary Witter (1740-1781). Her maternal grandmother, Hannah Brewster, was a direct descendant of William Brewster, one of the many Puritan Separatists (later known as the Pilgrims) who sailed to the New World abroad the historical ship Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims established Plymouth Colony and William became the religious leader of the community. Mary Witter's ancestors also include John Edmund Freeman, a passenger on the Abigail in 1635, and Walter Haynes and Peter Noyes, both sailing on the Confidence in 1638. After Mary was killed by her half-brother Frederick in «a fit of insanity,» Oliver remarried and relocated with his family to Cayuga Lake, New York around 1788.
Oliver and Mary had four daughters and three sons, including their second youngest boy Erastus Lyman Spalding (1775-1830), who married Jennet Mack (1779-1836) in 1798. Both of them were Quakers, a minor branch of Protestantism that arose from the Seekers and other dissenting groups breaking away from the established Church of England.
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| LEFT: Mayflower in Plymouth Harbor (painting by William Halsall, 1882). RIGHT: Imaginary likeness of William Brewster (by A. S. Burbank, 1904). |
Erastus and Jennet were parents to twelve children. One of their daughters was named Martha Ann Spalding (1818-1882) and she married Leman Benton Garlinghouse (1814-1872) in 1841. His paternal grandfather, John Garlinghouse, was born in the Netherlands and served as a Private in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. Leman's ancestors also include Thomas Woodford, a passenger on the William & Francis in 1632, and Francis B. Bushnell, who sailed to the New World on the Planter in 1635.
Martha and Leman had only one child, daughter Caroline Garlinghouse (1856-1894). In 1877, she married Alfred Augustus Houghton (1851-1892), a member of the prominent Houghton family from the New England and Upstate New York areas. He was the son of Amory Houghton, who founded Corning Glass Works (now Corning Incorporated) in 1851.
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| LEFT: Portait of Leman Benton Garlinghouse. MIDDLE: Portait of Alfred Augustus Houghton. RIGHT: Corning Glass Works, c. 1907. |
Caroline and Alfred had three daughters, including Katharine Martha Houghton (1878-1951). Raised by progressive freethinking parents, Katharine graduated from Bryn Mawr College with a bachelor's degree in history and political science and later earned a master's degree in chemistry and physics. She became a leading figure in the feminist and suffrage movement in the United States, serving as president of the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association before joining the National Woman's Party. in 1921, she helped found the organization that would become Planned Parenthood, alongside birth control advocate Margaret Sanger.
In 1904, Katharine married Thomas Norval Hepburn (1879-1962), a medical student at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Maryland. He became a urologist at Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, a position he held for almost 50 years, and helped establish the New England Social Hygiene Association, which educated the public about venereal disease.
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| LEFT: Portrait of Katharine Houghton. MIDDLE: Portait of Thomas Hepburn. RIGHT: Katharine and Thomas on their honeymoon in 1904. |
Katharine and Thomas had six children, three boys and three girls. Their eldest daughter was named Katharine Houghton Hepburn (1907-2003), who went on to become a four-time Academy Award-winning actress. She followed in her mother's footsteps and attended Bryn Mawr College, graduating in 1928 with a degree in history and philosophy.
Just a few months after graduating, Katharine made her Broadway debut in the play These Days, produced by Arthur Hopkins. Her breakthrough role came in 1932, when she played the lead role in the Greek fable The Warrior's Husband. She received glowing reviews for her performance and attracted the attention of Hollywood agent Leland Hayward, who asked to test for a part in George Cukor's A Bill of Divorcement (1932). The rest, as they say, is history.
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| LEFT: Katharine Hepburn with her mother and her siblings in 1921. MIDDLE: Katharine Hepburn's yearbook photo from Bryn Mawr College (1928). RIGHT: Katharine Hepburn in a publicity still for A Bill of Divorcement. |
And there you have it, the royal ancestry of Katharine Hepburn. If you would like to learn more about the noble family history of other Hollywood stars, you can read the following articles:
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