Look Who’s Related: The Cast of The Crown and the Royal Family

Actress Olivia Colman has won rave reviews for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the award-winning drama, The Crown. It was also recently revealed that Colman is a distant relative to the royal family as well. MyHeritage researchers shared that Colman is the Queen’s 13th cousin once removed. We can see this path clearly in Geni’s World Family Tree, which connects over 150 million people to a single family tree.

Image: Ibsan73, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0) / Bill Ingalls, NASA

According to the World Family Tree, they are both descended from Richard Saunders (1452-1480).

And that’s not all. We had some fun looking for a few more exciting connections between the cast of The Crown and their real life counterparts.

For seasons 3-4, Helena Bonham Carter has taken over the role of Princess Margaret, younger sister to the Queen. The World Family Tree reveals that they are 13th cousins twice removed. Bonham Carter comes from a prominent political family. She shared in an interview that her uncle, Baron Mark Raymond Bonham Carter, was a lifelong friend of Princess Margaret and they may have even briefly dated.

Bonham Carter’s paternal grandmother, Violet Bonham Carter, was a British politician and diarist and a very close friend of Winston Churchill. On the show, Churchill is portrayed by actor John Lithgow, who won an Emmy Award for his performance. Interestingly, Churchill is also Lithgow’s 10th cousin once removed.

The Crown is set to end after the sixth season, which will bring the storyline into the 21st century. Although the show will not dive into the present day, we found a rather close connection between Bonham Carter and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. They are 5th cousins once removed!