How new UK prime minister Boris Johnson is related to the Queen
The Queen has officially sworn in Boris Johnson in as the UK’s new Prime Minister.
The politician made his was to Buckingham Palace to shake hands with Her Majesty, and while the have pair met a handful of times during his stint as London Mayor, that’s not where their relationship ends.
As it happens, Prime Minister Johnson and the Queen are actually distantly related - a fact he discovered a decade ago.
Royal relatives
The revelation was made while filming of the BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? in 2008, which helps famous people delve into the lives of their most interesting ancestors.
During his episode, it was revealed Mr Johnson’s paternal grandmother, Yvonne Eileen Irene Williams, was a descendent of Prince Paul Von Wurttemberg.
Yvonne’s great grandparents were Baron Charles de Pfeffel and Karoline von Rottenburg.
Karoline was the illegitimate daughter of Prince Paul von Wurttermberg and an actress named Friederike Margrethe Porth.
In turn, Prince Paul was a great-great grandson of King George II, who reigned on the British throne from 1727 until 1760.
‘Absolutely crackers’
Speaking on the program at the time, Mr Johnson said: "If you had told me that I was related to George II, I would have thought you were absolutely crackers.”
"I would have been terribly proud just to have been related to the German King, but I can't hide it from you that even in our common European home, I am particularly thrilled to have some British Royal ancestry as well."
The now-leader also shares something else in common with the Royal Family. He studied at Eton College, like the Queen’s grandchildren Prince William and Prince Harry, who were the first royals to attend the boys' boarding school in Windsor.
Mr Johnson was named leader of the Conservative Party on Tuesday, securing 66 per cent of Conservative Party’s members’ votes to defeat challenger Jeremy Hunt.
He officially became Prime Minister on Wednesday after Theresa May tendered her resignation to the Queen and he follows her to Buckingham Palace to ask to form his own government.
Words by Danielle Stacey
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