Ancestry of
Meghan Markle
Duchess of Sussex, TV Actress
Who is Meghan Markle?
Meghan Markle is an American actress known mostly for her role as Rachel Zane on the USA Network’s legal drama Suits. In November 2017, she became engaged to Prince Harry, son of Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana.
Famous Kin
While any royal ancestry for Meghan Markle should be considered a little premature, see “Unproven Claims” below, she does have a few U. S. Presidential family connections including Millard Fillmore, Richard Nixon, and Gerald Ford. Her literary kin include “Fireside” poet John Greenleaf Whittier, Western author Louis L’Amour, and historical non-fiction author Nathaniel Philbrick.
Meghan Markle has a number of fellow celebrities in her family tree including Christopher Lloyd, Kyra Sedgwick, James Dean, John Lithgow, William H. Macy, and Kelsey Grammer. She also has a relatively close relationship to the Devil in the White City killer Dr. H. H. Holmes (aka Herman Webster Mudgett).
Unproven Claims
Kinship to Prince Harry
Many newspaper publications, online news sites, and Wikipedia have made the claim that Meghan Markle is a distant cousin to her fiance Prince Harry through their common ancestor of Ralph Bowes, a 15th century High Sheriff of County Durham. Despite these claims, no evidence has been found to show Meghan’s ancestor John Hussey is the same John Hussey who was the son of George Hussey, and grandson of Thomas Hussey and Bridget Bowes. Bridget was the granddaughter of Ralph Bowes. Without any evidence proving the two John Husseys are one and the same, the family connection between Meghan Markle and Prince Harry should be considered speculation and unproven.
Some of the most recently added connections of famous kin for Meghan Markle
Alice (Lee) Roosevelt
First Wife of President Theodore Roosevelt
13th cousin 3 times removed
via Robert White
Ichabod Goodwin
27th Governor of New Hampshire
12th cousin 7 times removed
via Sir Walter Hungerford
Benedict Cumberbatch
Movie, Television and Stage Actor
17th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir Robert Hungerford
Jonathan Bush
Co-founder and CEO of athenahealth
17th cousin 1 time removed
via Sir Robert Hungerford
Sir Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
16th cousin 2 times removed
via Sir Robert Hungerford
Sir Winston Churchill
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
15th cousin 4 times removed
via Sir Walter Hungerford
Lt. Gen. James Brudenell
Leader of the “Charge of the Light Brigade”
13th cousin 5 times removed
via Sir Robert Hungerford
View entire list of famous kin for Meghan Markle
Please note: The ancestor reports on this website have been compiled from thousands of different sources, many over 100 years old. These sources are attached to each ancestor so that you can personally judge their reliability. As with any good genealogical research, if you discover a link to your own family tree, consider it a starting point for further research. It is always preferable to locate primary records where possible. FamousKin.com cannot and does not guarantee the accuracy and reliability of these sources.