Robert The Bruce

[Ausie-Bloke]

One is probably best to leave the "Looking up the family tree" well alone, you never know what you may find out.
I am told that my Dads Aunt, my great Aunt was one of the last direct decendants of Robert the Bruce, but I have no way to verify this.
I did look up my mothers family name and after many years of beleiving we were of slightly blue blood we all got an aufull shock to find out the family line came to an abrupt end when they all died, as we often say; Bugger!
Back to square 1.

[oneofthefew]

Originally Posted by Ausie-Bloke

one of the last direct decendants of Robert the Bruce, but I have no way to verify this.

As you say there is no way to verify that - not without following EVERY branch of the descendants of the Bruce!

we all got an aufull shock to find out the family line came to an abrupt end when they all died...

If the family line came to an abrupt end then where did you come from?

[Scottish_Republican]

Originally Posted by Ausie-Bloke

I am told that my Dads Aunt, my great Aunt was one of the last direct decendants of Robert the Bruce, but I have no way to verify this.

Doubt it. There are a surprising number of people related to him.

[aNonnyMoose]

Originally Posted by Scottish_Republican

There are a surprising number of people related to him.

Most of them seem to end up in here, claiming it too...

[ANDY-J3]

People should keep a sense of perspective when they talk about being related to someone from the middle ages. You only have to go back about ten generations or so to find some connection with virtually everyone. I'm related to Robert the Bruce and William Wallace and John Knox and so are 90% of the rest of the Scottish population.

[aNonnyMoose]

Correct. Take it back 25 generations (about 650-700 years) and you will find that you have a total of 33,554,432 ancestors... do the maths if you don't believe me - 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 g-grandparents and so on back. Allow for about a 10% cross-mix here and there, and you're still in the 30 million region as a "ballpark" figure of ancestors.

And if one of those happened to be a Bruce, Wallace, or other well-known figure? That's right, one 30 millionth of their DNA might just happen to be mixed in with yours..... yawn.....

More chance of winning the national lottery, frankly. They do say you're about 5 times more likely to be struck by lightning than that happening

As a good friend of mine is fond of saying - why do we never get folk claiming to be descended from Wallace's shoemaker, or Bruce's tailor?

Haw haw haw!

[georgekidd]

Hey I was born in Dunfermline and I was Robert the Bruce in a past life! Cool huh?