9 celebrities with real-life ties to royalty
If there’s one trope that Hollywood loves to use (and reuse) it’s the secret royal: there’s Anne Hathaway as the unsuspecting heiress in “The Princess Diaries,” Audrey Hepburn portraying a runaway princess in “Roman Holiday,” and, most recently, Paul Mescal hiding in plain sight as the Prince of Rome, in “Gladiator II.”
While princes disguised as paupers seem like they exist solely in fiction, there’s actually a surprising number of real life royals and aristocrats hiding under our noses. Some of Hollywood’s biggest names have centuries-old ties to nobility.
And while they may not all have a collection of crown jewels, some of these celebrities continue to reap the benefits of their famous families, in the form of castles, titles, and other aristocratic perks.
Continue reading to learn which celebrities have real life ties to monarchs and aristocrats.
Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal
It’s no secret that Jake and Maggie Gyllenhaal were born into a wealthy family – Jake’s ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift made sure of that. “You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community, glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills,” the pop star allegedly crooned about Gyllenhaal in her country breakup song, “I Bet You Think About Me.”
Swift, however, may have actually undersold the sheer extent of Gyllenhaals’ privilege. Jake and Maggie aren’t merely the children of Hollywood elite – they’re the direct descendants of Swedish nobility.
The pair’s ancestor, Lieutenant Nils Gunnarsson Haal, was ennobled in 1652 and their Swedish cousins hold titles of nobility to this day. The American branch of the family hasn’t done poorly either – in addition to the famous siblings, the Gyllenhaals also claim film directors and media executives among their numbers.
Thandiwe Newton
Thandiwe Newton is one of the most celebrated British actresses of her generation, with an Emmy and a BAFTA Award to her name. Long before she ever stepped in front of a camera, however, Newton’s life was already fascinating.
Newton’s Zimbabwean mother was the daughter of a Shona chief, before she immigrated to the United Kingdom in the mid-1970s. Her father’s heritage is altogether more ordinary – he was a lab technician from Cornwall, England. Nevertheless, Shona custom dictates that royal blood passes through generations, meaning that Newton and her daughters are all princesses.
Christopher Guest and Jamie Lee Curtis
For many British artists, earning a title is the crowning achievement of a long and illustrious career. For Christopher Guest, on the other hand, it was an inevitability. The writer and actor behind comedy classics, like “This is Spinal Tap” and “Best in Show” became the 5th Baron Haden-Guest, following his father’s death in the late 1990s.
Guest’s title was awarded on a technicality, because his elder brother was born out of wedlock, making him ineligible for a hereditary title. The actor was active in the UK House of Lords during the early years of his tenure, before governmental reforms barred most hereditary peers from voting in Parliament. Guest described allowing hereditary peers to vote in Parliament as “unfair” but also characterized the reformed system as “sheer cronyism,” advocating instead for an elected upper house.
As a result of their marriage, Guest’s wife, Jamie Lee Curtis is a baroness. People could even theoretically address her as the Lady Haden-Guest. The Academy Award winner does not use the title, however, stating, “it has nothing to do with me.”
Kit Harington and Rose Leslie
On “Game of Thrones” and “Downton Abbey,” Kit Harington and Rose Leslie made their marks as characters who had proximity to nobility, but no official ties of their own. The acting couple’s real life social status, however, is much closer.
Leslie is the daughter of Sebastian Arbuthnot-Leslie, the Chieftain of Aberdeenshire branch of Clan Leslie. The actress’s mother also has ties to Scottish nobility: she is the great-granddaughter of a baron. Leslie’s non-noble ancestors include a New Zealand Prime Minister and a Mexican governor. Leslie was raised in Scotland’s Lickleyhead Castle, the historic seat of her family’s power.
Like his wife, Harington also has notable relatives on both sides of the family. His father is Sir David Harington, an English baronet, who reportedly descends from King James I. Harington’s mother, playwright Deborah Jane Catesby, is allegedly a descendant of Robert Catesby – one of Guy Fawkes’ associates who attempted to murder King James I in 1605.
Cara and Poppy Delevingne
In the United States, the Delevingne sisters are known for their famous friends. But in their home country, this pair of British models are the heirs to generations of fame and status. Cara and Poppy’s father is a prominent English property developer and the son of the rebellious Honourable Angela Delevingne, a socialite and viscount’s daughter.
Cara and Poppy’s mother, Pandora, is also descended from the British aristocracy. Pandora’s father was Sir Jocelyn Stevens, a newspaper executive, and her mother was from a noble family of baronets.
