Who’s the daddy? More family intrigue on the day of Richard III’s funeral

The remains of King Richard III may be locked away in a coffin to be reburied today, but the 15th-century king’s genome is still offering scientists a chance to unravel royal mysteries. After scientists uncovered evidence of infidelity in Richard’s family tree last year, they have discovered more hints of daddy drama in the historical family.

Having worked in the world of genetic genealogy for years, this is not at all surprising to me.

Turi King, geneticist at the University of Leicester

A DNA sample was taken from a man named Patrice de Warren, who emailed Turi King, geneticist at the University of Leicester, and said he was a male-line descendant of Geoffrey, the Count of Anjou, who lived from 1113 to 1151. But de Warren’s Y chromosome doesn’t match either Richard’s great-great-grandfather Edward III or Henry Somerset, King said, meaning there was at least one more case of false paternity in Richard’s extended family tree.

Lots of people contact me saying they think they might be related to Richard and would be happy to submit a DNA sample.

Turi King

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