Very likely English & Scottish royal bastards

[The Stuart Runaway]

I'm just tracing (online) paper trails for descendants of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and stumbled across something. It is alleged that Lady Elizabeth Stanhope, later Countess of Strathmore - who would be Margaret's descendant through who history says is her father (Phillip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield) - has a question mark over her paternity and it's very probable her father was James II of England. This got me thinking - which other aristocrats in history have a likelihood for royal paternity? The Hon. George Lamb (Lord Melbourne's brother) leaps to mind as a likely son of George IV. And before anyone says 'Mary Crofts', stop right there, because Lucy Walter and Charles II had ended things at least nine months before Mary's birth and she is definitely said to be the daughter of the 1st Earl of Carlingford. Right, now we've got THAT elephant out of the room...

 

[Gawin]

I'm just tracing (online) paper trails for descendants of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and stumbled across something. It is alleged that Lady Elizabeth Stanhope, later Countess of Strathmore - who would be Margaret's descendant through who history says is her father (Phillip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield) - has a question mark over her paternity and it's very probable her father was James II of England. This got me thinking - which other aristocrats in history have a likelihood for royal paternity? The Hon. George Lamb (Lord Melbourne's brother) leaps to mind as a likely son of George IV. And before anyone says 'Mary Crofts', stop right there, because Lucy Walter and Charles II had ended things at least nine months before Mary's birth and she is definitely said to be the daughter of the 1st Earl of Carlingford. Right, now we've got THAT elephant out of the room...

Hmm...I've never heard that claim made about the Countess of Strathmore before. She's an ancestor of the Queen, through the Queen Mother.

 

[Countessmeout]

Hmm...I've never heard that claim made about the Countess of Strathmore before. She's an ancestor of the Queen, through the Queen Mother.

The source of the rumor seems to be Samuel Pepys' diary

https://books.google.ca/books?id=WzAqAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA61&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false

I'm just tracing (online) paper trails for descendants of Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, and stumbled across something. It is alleged that Lady Elizabeth Stanhope, later Countess of Strathmore - who would be Margaret's descendant through who history says is her father (Phillip Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Chesterfield) - has a question mark over her paternity and it's very probable her father was James II of England. This got me thinking - which other aristocrats in history have a likelihood for royal paternity? The Hon. George Lamb (Lord Melbourne's brother) leaps to mind as a likely son of George IV. And before anyone says 'Mary Crofts', stop right there, because Lucy Walter and Charles II had ended things at least nine months before Mary's birth and she is definitely said to be the daughter of the 1st Earl of Carlingford. Right, now we've got THAT elephant out of the room...

The obvious ones would be the children of Mary Boelyn.

Neither child was ever recognized as Henry usually did. Catherine certainly was born during their affair. Henry was after but still many believe he was Henry's son. There was said to be an obvious resemblance.

Perkin Warbeck claimed to be Richard of Shrewsbury. He of course was a fake. But he had such a resemblance to Edward IV that some suspect he was in fact one of Edward's many bastards. That or possibly a child of one of Edward's siblings. Francis Bacon was one who believe this to be true.

Sir Roland de Velville, a favored member of the court of Henry VII has been suggested as a bastard of Henry's.

Robert the Bruce had two questionable (he had four well recognized) bastards. Niall Bruce, who died in the battle that David II was captured in, was either Robert's son or his nephew.


Of course up to Victoria, there were many acknowledged royal bastards.