The DNA of Britain’s Richard III’s body suggests the royal family may not have a royal bloodline.
The body of the former King was found in a car park in Leicester in 2012 and has since been studied by genetic scientists who have now revealed that while his maternal DNA proved his identity, the male line showed that at some point in history an affair had broken the paternal chain.
Professor of English Local History at the University of Leicester, Kevin Schurer, told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "The first thing we need to get out of the way is that we are not indicating that Her Majesty should not be on the throne.
"There are 19 links where the chain could have been broken so it is statistically more probable that it happened at a time where it didn’t matter. However there are parts of the chain which if broken could hypothetically affect royalty."
However, it’s said to be impossible to determine when the affair took place but, if it occurred at the time of Edward III, it could call in to question whether former kings including Henry VI, Henry VII or Henry VIII had royal blood and the right to rule.
Scientists studied the descendants of Edward III, Richard III’s great great grandfather, because Richard never had children, and found that their DNA doesn’t match, meaning there was an illegitimate child somewhere in the family.
Professor Schurer added: "If there is one particular link that has more significance than any other it has to be the link between Edward III and his son John of Gaunt … However you are never going to get an answer without exhuming a dead person."
Richard III’s DNA suggests royal family don’t have royal bloodline
