……… in which Dr. John Ashdown-Hill, who located the mtDNA match, tells nerdalicious what these findings really mean, not what the Cairo brigade (eg Hicks, Dan Jones and their acolytes) are already twisting them to mean:

What do King Richard III’s Latest DNA Results Really Prove?

1) Given that Richard III is only four generations down from Edward III, whilst the Somerset samples are about twenty down, they are about five times as likely to contain the “milkman”‘s DNA. In the interview, he even mentions the John of Gaunt – John Beaufort “connection” as a possibility for the broken link, which would substitute the (mere gentleman) Sir Hugh Swynford for Gaunt.
2) One of the live Somerset “cousins”, descended from the 5th Duke of Beaufort, doesn’t match the others, suggesting that the broken link could be quite recent, as well as the extra one this shows.


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20 responses to “Straight from the horse’s mouth?”

  1. “The Cairo brigade (eg Hicks, Dan Jones and their acolytes)”… what a cretinous statement. Even if you disagree with their opinions (which, as examples are very bad anyway, since they do not support each other), you should show some respect for basic professionalism. Anne Sutton would be ashamed of you.

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  2. Mutations in the Y-Chromosome would not lead to a change in the Haplogroup itself.

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  3. […] in 1439 at Fotheringhay. She was the elder sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, and it was her mitochondrial DNA that proved the remains discovered in Leicester were those of Richard […]

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  4. […] Sitwell’s ancestry is through the early Dukes of Beaufort – the family who are theoretically descended in the male line from Edward III, but not necessarily. The first Duke, as you can see, married the […]

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  5. […] Harriet Tatton said pupils were led on a path of discovery into how scientists used DNA testing to confirm they had discovered King Richard III’s body in […]

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  6. […] discovery in Leicester of the remains of Richard III was surely one of the greatest such event, and since then there have been increased attempts to […]

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  7. […] samples of DNA in the hope of locating someone of historic interest? After all, it’s how Michael Ibsen’s descent from Richard’s sister was […]

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  8. […] article, dating from just nine days after Richard III’s remains were officially identified, speculates on where Balliol, son of a Scots king like his rival, is likely to be buried in or […]

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  9. […] regarding children: A 2014 Y-DNA study compared the DNA of Edward III’s descendants, namely Richard III and 5 men descended from Henry Somerset, 2nd Earl of Worcester. Richard III […]

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  10. […] six years ago now, it was confirmed that the remains identified under a car park in Leicester were those of Richard III. One of the […]

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  11. […] sell well. Which it will, because Professor King’s work on showing that the remains in Leicester are indeed those of Richard III, have brought her to a worldwide stage far greater than might otherwise have been the case. Not […]

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  12. […] about Catherine of Valois, mother to Edmund and Jasper Tudor, in his book Royal Marriage Secrets John Ashdown-Hill writes “within two years of her husband’s death she had apparently begun to form an amorous […]

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  13. […] of course, several parallels with Richard III here, although his Y-chromosome is inconclusive and his mtDNA was conclusive. Those who are ostensibly descended from Robert I and / or his brother Edward, […]

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  14. […] named Dominic Selwood disputes the identity of Richard III’s remains, despite the mtDNA match with collateral descendants in Canada and Australia, their height, age of death, era of death, […]

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  15. […] Barton also discusses the movement of the head over the years, almost like that of Eva Peron, together with the cumulative evidence of the head’s identity: the age, sex, facial hair and warts, similar to that in the case of Richard III’s remains. […]

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  16. […] As you will have observed, a lot has happened since Newley’s death in 1999, not least finding Richard’s real grave and reburying […]

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  17. […] in 1439 at Fotheringhay. She was the elder sister of Kings Edward IV and Richard III, and it was her mitochondrial DNA that proved the remains discovered in Leicester were those of Richard […]

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  18. […] but he had a son, Charles, with a woman called Joan Hill of whom little is known. The present Duke of Beaufort is a […]

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  19. […] Hilariously, even one of this Duke’s “descendants” isn’t, as shown here. […]

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