How to Discover if Your Ancestors Were Scottish Nobility or Royals
It is estimated that over 40 million people worldwide have some ancestral roots in Scotland. While many people will have connections to commonfolk, a small percentage of people may have noble, or even royal, blood.
In this blog, we will discuss how to track your lineage through the past centuries to discover whether you hail from royalty.
How Common is Royal Ancestry?
Over the centuries, there have been a number of Scottish monarchs and countless legitimate and illegitimate lines.
With this in mind, some form of royal or noble ancestry is far more common than you might think. Experts believe that many Brits and Europeans are related to modern royalty. In fact, over four million people are thought to share DNA with Edward III alone.
Your family does not need to be noble or well off in this modern age to share DNA with royals. Even normal families with Scottish, Welsh, Irish or English heritage may have noble or royal blood.
How to Find out if you Have Scottish Ancestry
There are a wide number of resources available to help you uncover your family tree. Many of these tools are online, making them easily accessible to the majority of people.
One good place to start is to take a DNA test. This will tell you if you have Scottish blood and act as a starting point.
Furthermore, many people uncover their heritage through Ancestry.co.uk and Findmypast. These services utilise historical records like newspapers or parish records to build a digital family tree.
If you’d rather do the research yourself, you can track your surname backwards through time. You can also follow up any family rumours around your heritage.
Scotland has a huge number of written records that go back centuries. This makes the country a world leader in providing digital family history information.
Some records that Scotland can offer include:
- Births, deaths and marriage from 1553.
- Census records from 18-42-1911.
- Wills from 1500.
These records can be found through Scotland’s People, an online genealogical resource with 100 million records.
How to Track Whether you Have Royal or Noble Blood
In addition to general ancestry tools, there are some specific records that can help you discover any royal and noble links
Royal Household Staff (1526–1924)
These records span nearly 400 years of palace staff. They draw on documents such as‘Keeper of the Lions in the Tower’ to ‘Chocolate Maker to the Queen’. You can find this exclusively on Findmypast.
Royal Archives and Aristocratic Directories
These records trace the Scottish noble and royal lineage in extensive detail, helping you to discover your early family roots.
Knights of the Realm and Commonwealth Honours Lists
Rather than having royal or noble blood, some people are historically notable due to their service or achievements. For example, your ancestors may have been knighted or granted titles. These records can be found on Findmypast and traces honours awarded from the 13th century onwards.
Historical Newspapers
These often reported on nobility and their entourages, tracking engagements, scandals and court appearances.
Become a Lord or Lady With Scotland Titles
Whether you have Scottish roots or not, become more closely connected to Scotland by purchasing a piece of the Fife landscape through Scotland Titles. Check out our website for details.
