The coronation this week of King Charles III is actually a major genealogical event. The crowning of the new king officially confirms his descent from William the Conqueror who was crowned in the earlier Westminster Abbey on Dec. 25, 1066.
King Charles’ lineage via the intermarriages of his ancestors weaves itself further back into pre-Norman rulers. While the Abbey has been the site for all the coronations of English kings and queens, it is also the burial spot for many of the king’s ancestors before the 1770s. While many have marked graves, such as Mary Queen of Scots and Henry III, others do not.
Anyone interested in the Stuart and Hanoverian burials from the 1600s and 1700s should check out the free YouTube video by Dr. Allan Barton. It’s a fascinating look where no tourists are allowed and no photographs are known.
The Abbey has several links to Georgia’s founding. It is the burial spot, as mentioned above, of George II (1683-1760) for whom Georgia is named and who granted Georgia’s charter in 1732, as well as of his son Frederick and daughter-in-law Augusta, whose names remain on the Georgia landscape. The Georgia Trustees met just across the street to plan the new colony and vet its first settlers.
Georgia’s last royal governor, Sir James Wright (died 1785), is buried there as well. The royal lineage from William the Conqueror to Charles III is not a direct line. It zigs and zags through various ancestors who were not king or queen themselves due to abdications, religious changes, and political upheavals. The weight of the millennium of all these ancestors will certainly rest on the new king’s shoulders as he enters the Abbey to be crowned.
Lunch and Learn topic
Kelsey Fritz will speak about the museum at the Center for Puppetry Arts (puppet.org) in Atlanta at the May 12 Lunch and Learn at the Georgia Archives. Noon, free and bring your own lunch. See GeorgiaArchives.org or call 678-364-3710.
Archaeological research on your ancestors’ lands
It never hurts to do a Google search on your topic. I recently found professional archaeological research reports in two different states on ancestral sites. One was a historic church, the other a farm/plantation in Maryland.
Contact Kenneth H. Thomas Jr., P. O. Box 901, Decatur, GA 30031 or kenthomasongenealogy.com.
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