Kate and Prince William have been happily married since 2011 and have welcomed Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis into their happy family. After coming from an unassuming background, the Duchess of Cambridge has established herself as a hard-working royal as she and her husband step up to their more senior roles in support of the Queen. However Marcia Moody, in her 2013 book “Kate: A biography” reveals a surprising royal connection from Kate’s family past.
Ms Moody writes: “For over a century, her mother’s maternal ancestors, the Harrisons, worked down the coal mines.
“They lived in County Durham, just south of Newcastle, and worked in the pits owned by the Bowes-Lyons, the Queen Mother’s family.”
Kate’s ancestors worked at the Hetton colliery in the 19th century, which was part of the substantial coal-rich estates of the Bowes-Lyons.
The Hetton pit closed in 1950, however some of its miner’s cottages can be seen in the Beamish open-air museum.
Kate Middleton has a surprising royal family link through the Queen Mother (Image: Getty)
Kate Middleton and Prince William (Image: GETTY)
