He has carved out a successful career in the heart of Hollywood since he first found fame with his breakout role in Four Wedding and a Funeral in 1994.
Since then, Hugh Grant has gone from strength to strength as one of the hunkiest men in rom-com history. The actor has starred in some of the biggest romance films on the big screen, including Notting Hill, Bridget Jones Diary and Love Actually.
Away from the limelight, the TV star enjoys a quiet life with his Swedish producer wife Anna Eberstein and their three children John Mungo, 12, Lulu Danger, eight, and Blue, five.
But one person fans may be surprised to know the actor is connected to is the late Queen Elizabeth II. As the award-winning actor celebrates his 65th birthday with his nearest and dearest, let’s take a look inside his hidden connection to the royal family.
Many people are related to the royal family if you take into account marriages, but the Paddington 2 star has a close connection to the late monarch.
According to the Genealogy website Geni, Hugh Grant’s mother Fyvola Susan Grant was the daughter of Margaret MacLean, whose father was Felton Randolph, whose mother was Frances Randolph.
She was the daughter of Lionel Hervey, whose father was Felton Hervey, whose father was The Hon, Felton Hervey. Now, this is where the aristocracy kicks in.
His mother was Elizabeth Hervey, Countless of Bristol, whose mother was Lady Elizabeth Felton, whose mother was Barbara Villiers, whose brother was Sir Edward Villiers, Knight Marshal of the Household. We’ve come as far back as the 17th century and this is where we return down the family tree to the late Queen.
Sir Edward Villiers, Knight Marshal of the Household was the father of Anne Villiers, whose son was Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland, whose son was William Bentinck, 2nd Duke of Portland, whose son was William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland.
He had a son called Lt-Col Lord William Charles Augustus Cavendish-Bentinck, whose son was The Reverend Charles William Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck.
Now his daughter was Cecilia Bowes-Lyon, Countless of Strathmore and Kinghorne, whose daughter Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon would marry the future King George VII, before becoming the Queen Mother for half a century after his death in 1952.
Of course, their firstborn child would become Queen Elizabeth II. This means that Hugh Grant is the late monarch’s ninth cousin once removed.
The Hollywood star’s lineage also goes all the way back to King Henry VII aka Henry Tudor and King James IV of Scotland.
