"Who Do You Think You Are" Series 13, Episode #1: Danny Dyer

[KGarrad]

It made me chuckle when, towards the end of the show, DD reckoned he was a "direct descendant" of Edward III, and had royal blood?!

Maybe related a few times removed, but hardly direct?!

[Skoosh]

I notice they missed out Edward II who ran away at Bannockburn &  came to a bad ending following an encounter with the business end of a red-hot poker. Chest swells with pride! 

Skoosh.

[BushInn1746]

I have read a report that 99% of British people are descended from Edward III? ...

It is an interesting theory but not sure how it can be true.
The population in Britain would have been about 3 million. From that the nobility, and their immediate circle, would have been just a few thousand?
Not sure that most people would have come into any contact with the aristocracy in their lifetime. Most people would have been peasant class agricultural labourers and would have married into their own kind.

A few thousand is more than enough in order for all their descendants, which would be in the millions, to have spread their genetic material in the time between the 1300s and now.

All it takes is one person of royal blood to have had a child with a commoner, and then that child's descendants would spread their DNA through the peasant class in many different families through the generations.

Alive at the same time of Edward III, would be all the Landowners, Barons or Lords of the Manors with their families, smaller farm owners or smallholders of land, plus others such as professions or traders, plus farmers, or peasants who farmed the lands of the landowners in each town!

The majority of us will descend directly from one of the others, besides Edward III.

Regards Mark

[stonechat]

What a hoot! Gave me a good laugh

[anne_p]

KGarrad,
Did I misunderstand it or miss something?

DD is directly descended from Edward 111.

His direct ancestor was Thomas Cromwell  (15th gt grandfather if I recall)
DD is descended from his son Gregory Cromwell with Elizabeth Seymour. ( 14th great grandparents)
Elizabeth Seymour was the royal link and direct descendant of Edward 111

[BushInn1746]

Hello

If my memory serves me correct, didn't they go sideways, via a marriage to a Tollemache?

They didn't feature the research by the freelance Genealogist who suddenly produced a sheet going back a number of generations, from the GRO Certificate of Albert Buttivant of Whitechapel. This was the bit I really wanted to see for a few tips! However, Buttivant is a rare surname on Free BMD and a rare surname can really help, when tracing back your ancestry.

I'll watch again.

Regards Mark

In answer to anne_p, I think I need to see this program again, because they went sideways at one point, via a sister, of probably Tollemache?

Found this again now, re Cromwell ...
https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Cromwell-Descendants-12

Regards Mark


EDIT:  NOT Sister, but Marriage of Robert Gosnold = Anne Tollemache

[Mowsehowse]

They didn't feature the research by the freelance Genealogist who suddenly produced a sheet going back a number of generations, from the GRO Certificate of Albert Buttivant of Whitechapel. This was the bit I really wanted to see for a few tips! However, Buttivant is a rare surname on Free BMD and a rare surname can really help, when tracing back your ancestry.
Regards Mark 

In answer to anne_p, I think I need to see this program again, because they went sideways at one point, via a sister, of probably Tollemache?

Found this again now, re Cromwell ...
https://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Cromwell-Descendants-12

Regards Mark

The above link makes it easy to follow. Thanks Mark.

I too was disappointed by the research they did not follow carefully, in favour of plenty of selfie footage!!

But the Tollemache sister who married the civil war Royalist, was the grand daughter ( ) of Gregory Cromwell who married Jane Seymour's sister, which is how it tracks back through the Percys to the Plantagenets and Norman conquest.

[anne_p]

I need to watch it back too but I think that once they worked out that DD ancestor was Robert Gosnold, Robert became the direct the link to the Tollemache family.


The current Tollmarche man showed DD around the church and showed him the line of ancestry
He pointed out their shared ancestral grandmother who was one of the Tollemache women but I can't remember her name.

[TheNineteenth]

As a direct descendent of Thomas Cromwell's sister Katherine...

Oh no! I'm cousins with Danny Dyer!

And sadly I've not found any royalty in my line to compensate for it!!