Is Prince William Descended From Shakespeare?
LONDON (Reuters) - Is Britain's Prince William descended from Shakespeare? A German academic claims to have found clues to a blood link between the bard and Britain's royal family, the Sunday Times reported.
A new book points to evidence hidden in paintings to argue that Shakespeare had an illegitimate daughter Penelope who grew up to marry the second Baron Spencer -- from whom William's mother the late Princess Diana was directly descended.
The book by Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel of Mainz University will be published next month as ``The Secrets of Shakespeare's Dark Lady,'' the Sunday Times said.
It said the book names the woman with whom Shakespeare had the affair as Elizabeth Vernon, a lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth I.
A portrait of her known as The Persian Lady in Hampton Court Palace bears a sonnet claimed to be by Shakespeare, the paper said. A portrait in another collection is said to carry a miniature image of the playwright's face.
As for whether Shakespeare's genes could reassert themselves in 17-year-old Prince William, the son of Diana and Prince Charles, the Times noted that so far William has excelled as a sportsman but is also thought to be a good English student.