One of Prince William's ancestors possibly ArmenianJune 14, 2013 - 15:45 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Prince William, second-in-line to the throne, will be first British king with proven Indian ancestry, DNA analysis has revealed, The Economic Times reported. The DNA analysis of saliva samples taken from the Duke of Cambridge's relatives have established a direct lineage between the 30-year-old prince and an Indian housekeeper on his mother Princess Diana's side. It is his only non-European DNA and means he will become the first Head of the Commonwealth with a clear genetic link to its most populous nation - India. William is now likely to be encouraged to make his debut mission to India soon after the birth of his baby next month. Researchers have uncovered the details of his lineage via a doomed relationship of William's Indian great-great-great-great-great grandmother. Eliza Kewark was housekeeper to Prince William's great grandfather Theodore Forbes (1788-1820), a Scottish merchant who worked for the East India Company in the port town of Surat in Gujarat. Eliza's mtDNA was passed on by her daughters and granddaughters directly in an unbroken line to Princess Diana and then on to Prince William and Prince Harry. Eliza is claimed to have been Armenian, possibly because her surname is rather like the Armenian name Kevork and letters from her to Forbes have been found which contain Armenian script. This in turn suggests a degree of Armenian cultural heritage and the possibility that her father may have been of Armenian descent. "But we believe that all the evidence we have gathered shows that her genetic heritage through her motherline is Indian," BritainsDNA, a DNA ancestry testing company, said in a release. "Princes William and Harry carry Eliza Kewark's markers but will not pass this Indian mtDNA onto their children, as mtDNA is only passed from mother to child," it added. Jim Wilson, a genetics expert at the University of Edinburgh and BritainsDNA who carried out the tests, said that Eliza's descendants had an incredibly rare type of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), inherited only from a mother. It has so far been recorded in only 14 other people, 13 Indian and one Nepalese. The revelation explains why the Scottish father of Eliza's children suddenly deserted her and sent their daughter, Katherine, to Britain at the age of 6. Top stories Six total incidents have burned 19 old-growth trees. Friday night 8 trees were torched along the beautiful main entrance. The EU does not intend to conduct military exercises with Armenia, Lead Spokesperson for EU Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano says. Hikmet Hajiyev has said that there is no place for USAID operation in Azerbaijan any longer. A telephone conversation between Putin and Pashinyan before the CSTO summit is not planned, Peskov says. Partner news | Protest leader vows to achieve departure of Armenian authorities According to Archbishop Bagrat, there is only one solution to the situation in Armenia. Heads of Armenian, Ukrainian parliaments hold virtual talks Alen Simonyan and Ruslan Stefanchuk held talks via video conference on Tuesday, May 21. Pashinyan travels to Iran to pay tribute to Raisi, others Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left for the Islamic Republic of Iran on a working visit. Your home is in Armenia – Ameriabank offers mortgage loans for the Diaspora To buy real estate, Diasporans can apply to Ameriabank online to buy, renovate or build a home anywhere in Armenia. |