Prince William will be the first British monarch to have Indian ancestry, new DNA research has revealed.
The 30-year-old royal is second in line to the throne after his father Prince Charles and a new report published today (14.06.13) by the University of Edinburgh states scientists have found a direct link between William and a DNA strand unique to the Indian subcontinent.
The study was carried out by testing saliva taken from the Duke of Cambridge's maternal relatives and the genetic link to India comes from William's great-great-great-great-great grandmother Eliza Kewark.
Although believed to be Armenian, Eliza - who was married to Scotsman Theodore Forbes, with whom she had a daughter Katherine - has been proven to be at least half-Indian and she lived in the Western region of the country.
Researchers were able to discover the link because descendants from Eliza carried a rare strand of DNA - known as mitochondrial DNA - which can only be passed on via the mother.
This particular strand is only found in people from India and remarkably it has only been discovered in 14 other people - who were all Indian except one individual from Nepal.
It has been deduced that William and his brother Prince Harry - whose mother was the late Princess Diana - must therefore both carry the DNA strand.
Diana's maternal aunt Mary Roach told The Times newspaper: "I always assumed that I was part-Armenian so I am delighted that I also have an Indian background."
The tests were carried out by University of Edinburgh genetics expert Jim Wilson and the organisation BritainsDNA, and Wilson insists the proof of William's Indian bloodline was "unassailable".
The discovery of his heritage has increased speculation William could make his first visit to India with his wife Duchess Catherine - who is currently pregnant with their first child together.
Alistair Moffat, the founder of BritainsDNA, said: "Knowing something about your DNA and its origins in pre-history definitely changes your sense of yourself, and one way that it does that is to make you feel part of a world community."
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