Celine Dion And Madonna Are Both Related To Kate Middleton, And 39 Other Celebs With Surprising Royal Connections

    Turns out they're not just Hollywood royalty.

    Amy Glover
    by Amy Glover

    BuzzFeed Staff

    1. Bob Odenkirk is King Charles III's 11th cousin.

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    The actor discovered the connection on PBS' Finding Your Roots. "I’m an American. I’m not a monarchist. I don’t believe in, uh, that," he said in the show. "I feel like it’s a little twisted... I think that we’ve gotten to a better place with democracy and we should keep going down that road.”

    2. Madonna is Queen Camilla's 9th cousin once removed.

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    She's also related to Celine Dion.

    3. Beyoncé is the 25th cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    They share common ancestor King Henry II.

    4. Angelina Jolie is a 25th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II via a French link.

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    Angelina is descended from King Philip II of France and was given an honorary damehood by the Queen in 2014.

    5. Forget related — Thandiwe Newton is a Zimbabwean princess.

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    Her mother's a princess, making her a princess as well per the Shona tradition.  All her female descendants will be too — including her daughters.

    6. Hilary Duff is Queen Elizabeth II's 18th cousin.

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    A genealogy study revealed the connection. She is also a descendant of Catherine Carey, who some think was the unclaimed daughter of Henry VIII, born out of wedlock.

    7. Benedict Cumberbatch is King Richard III's second cousin 16 times removed.

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    He actually played his own ancestor, King Richard III, in The Hollow Crown.

    8. And Paris Hilton claims to be related to Queen Elizabeth II, too.

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    Speaking to Cosmo, the celeb said "My mom just did one of those 23andMe DNA kits and I am related to Marilyn Monroe and Queen Elizabeth."

    9. Ellen DeGeneres is also related to Queen Elizabeth II through King Edward III.

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    She's her 19th cousin through the (apparently prolific) connection. She's also the 15th cousin of Kate Middleton.

    10. Megan Markle was already distantly related to King Edward III before she married Prince Harry.

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    In fact, her and the prince are 17th cousins. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were third cousins.

    11. Turns out it's not just for TV — Kit Harrington, who plays a royal on Game of Thrones, is descended from King Charles II.

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    Kit's relation is through his grandmother Lavender Cecilia Denny.

    12. And Rose Leslie, who's married to Kit on-screen in Game of Thrones AND in real life, is ALSO descended from King Charles II.

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    Leslie's link is through her mother, Candida Mary Sibyl Leslie.   

    13. Ralph Fiennes is King Charles III's eighth cousin...

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    And FYI, his full name is Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes.

    14. ...So naturally, Joseph Fiennes is too.

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    They're connected through King James II of Scotland, the Financial Times says.  

    15. Brooke Shields is Queen Elizabeth II's 18th cousin.

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    They share relative John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster. He was Edward III's son.

    16. Jake Gyllenhaal is a 19th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II...

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    17. ...And so, through their shared genes, is his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal.

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    They share an ancestor, King Edward III.  

    18. Laura Dern is Queen Elizabeth II's 19th cousin thrice removed, through King Edward III (again).

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    What a guy.

    19. Hugh Grant is Queen Elizabeth II's 9th cousin once removed.

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    He's also related to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton. 

    20. Uma Thurman is Queen Elizabeth II's 21st cousin, once removed.

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    Thie shared ancestor is King Edward I of England.

    21. Guy Ritchie is Kate Middleton's 6th cousin once removed.

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    He was even invited to her wedding to Prince William.

    22. Tilda Swinton is directly descended from Scottish royal Robert the Bruce (yes, the Robert the Bruce from Braveheart).

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    Researchers discovered the link in 2009; it tuns out both of her parents share the connection.

    23. Elle Fanning is related to King Edward III...

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    24. ...So, of course, Dakota Fanning is too.

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    They're also Kate Middleton's 21st cousins.  

    25. Allison Janney is Queen Elizabeth II's 22nd cousin, once removed.

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    The share ancestor King Edward I.

    26. Richard Gere is also related to the former Queen through King Edward I.

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    He's her 22nd cousin twice removed.

    27. Tom Hanks is also related to Queen Elizabeth II.

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    He's her 22nd cousin via King John.

    28. Celine Dion shares Madonna's connection to Kate Middleton.

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    She's the Duchess' 10th cousin once removed.

    29. Sigourney Weaver is the 24th cousin once removed of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    They share ancestor Henry I.

    30. Like Sigourney Weaver, Glenn Close is Queen Elizabeth II's 24th cousin once removed.

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    She shares Tom Hanks' connection, King John.

    31. Like Bob Odenkirk, Bill Hader discovered his royal connection to King Edward I AND Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne on Finding Your Roots.

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    "The conqueror of Europe? I couldn't even get the coffeemaker to work this morning," he joked in the episode.

    32. Johnny Depp is Queen Elizabeth II's 25th cousin.

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    It's through King Edward III, who's related to an awful lot of these stars.

    33. Alec Baldwin is Queen Elizabeth II's 29th cousin twice removed.

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    They share ancestor Ethelred the Unready.

    34. Brad Pitt is a 25th cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    They're connected through 12th century ruler King Henry II.

    35. Ozzy Osbourne is related to both Russian and British royalty.

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    He has genetic ties to both Russian Tsar Nicholas II and English King George I.

    36. Akosua Busia is a Ghanaian princess.

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    She's part of the royal house of Wenchi AND the daughter of a former prime minister.

    37. George Bush is an 11th cousin, twice removed, of Princess Diana.

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    Abraham Lincoln was Mr. Bush's seventh cousin five times removed, too. 

    38. Michael Douglas is related to Queen Elizabeth II through — you guessed it — King Edward III.

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    He's her 19th cousin once removed

    39. Jamie Lee-Curtis is a Baroness through her marriage to Christopher Guest.

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    Christopher Guest is British nobility, with his full title being 5th Baron Haden-Guest. So, Jamie is now Jamie Lee Haden-Guest, Baroness Haden-Guest. It's not TECHNICALLY royalty, but surely a Baronesshood counts for something.

    40. Sissy Spacek is Queen Elizabeth's 24th cousin.

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    Like Tom Hanks and Glenn Close, the link is through King John.

    41. Kyra Sedgwick is the 21st cousin twice removed of Queen Elizabeth II.

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    To shake it up a bit, the relation isn't through King Edward III (who's the relative of almost a quarter of these celebs) — it's actually via King Henry III. 

    Can you think of any other examples? Let us know in the comments below!

    Additional thumbnail credits: Kevin Mazur / WireImage for Parkwood via Getty Images