A timeline of redhead royals
Just looking at the past Kings and Queens of the UK, it is obvious that the MC1R gene has been running through the royal bloodline for hundreds of years. Although redheads will always be royalty to us, who are the redheaded monarchs that actually made it to the throne?
Although the MC1R gene must trace back to before the Tudor times, let’s start at one of the most infamous monarchs instead…
King Henry VIII
King Henry VIII (r.1509-1547) is most known for his brutality against his six wives, his huge appetite, and of course his ginger hair. King Henry VIII sent two of his wives, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard, to their deaths on the executioner’s block at the Tower of London.
And what happened to the others? Well, the rhyme goes something like this: “Divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, survived.”
Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I (r.1558-1603) was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She is possibly most famous for her ginger locks and ruling when the Spanish Armada were defeated. There are so many portraits of Queen Elizabeth I dressed in her classic Elizabethan style – pale face, a large forehead, and bright hair.
King James VI
King James VI (r.1603-1625) was Queen Elizabeth I’s successor and cousin, who was also thought to be ginger!
King James VIII
King James VIII (r.1901-1910) was the first full redheaded monarch since Queen Elizabeth I!
Queen Alexandra
Queen Alexandra (r.1901-1910) was the wife of King James VII. And thanks to her, she bought the redhead bloodline back in full swing when she gave birth to their son George V.
Yes, King George V (r.1910-1936) was ginger in his younger years!
King George V married Queen Mary of Teck, who was also a natural redhead. And in 1835 she Queen Mary of Teck gave birth to George VI.
King George VI (r.1936-1952) was also a natural redhead and is known for being one of the most popular monarchs of the 20th Century. He held a reputation of being a loving father, war hero, and a man of principle because he tried to modernise the royal family.
In 1952, at just 18 years old, Queen Elizabeth II (r.1952-2022) was crowned Queen of the United Kingdom. To many people, Queen Elizabeth II is known as “the other redheaded queen”, because when she first took to the throne her ginger hair was prominent. Many women were inspired by her auburn locks, and dyed their hair ginger as a result.
Prince Harry, the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, is widely known for being the red headed member of the royal family; as well as being the least professional member of the royal family, after he was caught with his trousers down at a game of strip poker.
Obviously we know that Prince Harry must have got his red hair through his mother and father’s side. As a child, Princess Diana had ginger hair, and so did her siblings!
When King Charles was younger, he was also topped with a dark auburn hair – so naturally, Harry was blessed with red locks when he was born!
The most recent members of the royal bloodline are Prince Harry and Princess Meghan’s children: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. These two toddlers are both topped with red hair!
As we know, the MC1R gene can be carried through any bloodline, regardless of someone’s race! So although it may have been a shock for most of the public to see Princess Meghan birth two perfect carrot-topped children, she must have been a carrier of the redhead gene, and she must’ve received it from both her mother and father.
The chief scientist at BritainsDNA, Dr Jim Wilson, spoke to the Daily Mail regarding it all and claimed, “Families can carry a variant for generations, and when one carrier has children with another carrier, a redheaded baby can appear seemingly out of nowhere.”