Charlemagne

I must admit that I was pleasantly surprised to find out I was related to Charlemagne, but not too surprised as I already knew I was (distantly) related to most of the British royal family, and therefore to most of Europe's royal families. Who was Charlemagne, you ask? Shame on you if you have to ask, but anyway here is a brief biography of him:

Charlemagne (742?-814) was the King of the Franks from 768 to his death in 814. He basically was the founder of the first empire in western Europe after the fall of Rome. After becoming King of the Franks, he consolidated his kingdom, invading and annexing neighboring areas such as northeast Spain and Bavaria. In 800 he restored Pope Leo III to the papacy and was crowned emperor by him on Christmas Day, thus laying the basis for the Holy Roman Empire. His administration was the model of efficiency (for it's time), and his court in Aachen was the center for an intellectual and artistic renaissance.

So, how am I related to the great Charlemagne? Following is the list of couples from Charlemagne down to me. His descendant is in bold, and the spouse is in parenthesis:

Husband

Wife

Charlemagne

King Pepin I of Italy
King Bernhard of Italy
Pepin II Seigneur of Peronne
Hubert I Count of Senlis
(King Robert I of France)
Hugh Capet the Great
King Hugh Capet of France
King Robert II of France
King Henry I of France
Hugh Magnus
(Sir Robert de Beaumont)
Waleran de Beaumont
Sir Robert de Beaumont
(William de Vernon)
(Sir Robert de Courtenay)
Sir John de Courtenay
Sir Hugh de Courtenay
(Sir Henry de Grey)
Sir Richard de Grey
(Sir William de Harcourt)
Sir Thomas de Harcourt
Sir Thomas de Harcourt
Sir Richard Harcourt
(William Bessiles)
(Richard Fettiplace)
(Edward Purefoy)
(Thomas Thorne)
(Capt. Roger Dudley)
Thomas Dudley, Esquire
(Gov. Simon Bradstreet)
Col. Dudley Bradstreet
(Job Tyler)
William Tyler
(Hezekiah Fuller)
James Fuller
Hezekiah Fuller
Hiram Austin Fuller
Harry Aubrey Fuller
(Charles Edward Prenavo)
(Richard Emmanuel Decorie)

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Hildegarde of Vinzgau

(Bertha of Toulouse)
(Kunigunda Cunegonde)
(????? ?????) * See note 1
(????? ?????)
Beatrice
** See note 2
(Adelaide of Poitou)
(Bertha of Burgundy)
(Matilda of Germany)
(Adelaide de Vermandois)
Isabel de Vermandois
(Agnes de Montfort)
(Maud ?????)
Maud de Beaumont
Mary de Vernon
(Isabel de Vere)
(Eleanor le Despenser)
Eleanor de Courtenay
(Joan ?????)
Jane de Grey
(Maud de Grey)
(Jane Franceys)
(Edith St. Clair)
Alice Harcourt
Elizabeth Bessiles
Anne Fettiplace
Mary Purefoy
Susan Thorne
(Dorothy Yorke)
Anne Dudley
(Ann Wood)
Margaret Bradstreet
(Dorothy Geer)
Margaret Tyler
(Lucretia White)
(Persis Austin)
(Eva Catherine Louise Smith)
(Josephine Maria Engelbreit)
Matilda Antoinette Fuller
Rita Florencia Prenavo

William H. Decorie

* NOTE 1: A "?????" means that portion of the name is unknown, and not that I'm not sure it's the right person.

** NOTE 2: Sources are unclear as to which wife is the mother of which of his children. His wives include Edhilda ?????, Hadwig ????? and a daughter of the Count of Maine. It is most likely that Edhilda is the mother of King Hugh Capet.

Charlemagne is my great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great great grandfather [Ed. note: I had to leave off the hyphens, so the browser would wrap the text], which means we share 1/2,199,023,255,552 of the same genes. Pretty close relationship, eh?

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