Genealogist reveals royal scandal

ONE of Britain's leading genealogists is heading for the Phoenix pub in Abbey Street, Faversham next Wednesday, November 14, with an explosive theory that could rock the aristocracy.

Anthony Adolph's extensive researches have led him to believe Charles I was not father to Charles II or his brother James II.

Ironically, Anthony will be within a few yards from the Faversham house where James was held after he tried to flee the country in 1688.

Anthony believes Henry Jermyn, the man who built St James Square in the heart of London, was the royal princes' true father.

Jermyn, who spoke fluent French, was assigned to the French Princess Henrietta Maria as her interpreter in charge of her household.

She married Charles 1 in Canterbury but her husband hardly ventured into her bed chamber according to Anthony's new book The King's Henchman.

Both Charles and his brother James were over six feet tall while Charles 1 was nearly a foot shorter.

Anthony will also be talking about Kate Middleton's Canterbury connection and Stephen Fry's Faversham ancestors.

He co-presented Gene Detectives with Melanie Sykes on BBC One and Channel Four's Extraordinary Ancestors.

Anthony is also a regular researcher for BBC's Who Do You Think You Are, having delved into the ancestry of Jeremy Clarkson, Joanna Lumley, Ronnie Corbet, Michael Palin and JKRowling.

He also discovered that Bond actor Sir Sean Connery was descended from a Scottish Earl who fled after the 1745 rebellion.