When it comes to Hollywood royalty, you usually think of the House of Windsor, the Marxes, or the Fords when it comes to England; and the House of Hapsburg, the Medicis, or the Borgias when it comes to Italy. Names like Rockefeller or Vanderbilt might pop up and you’d instantly think of America.
But what about the most recent Royal Couple? Could Katie Leung and Robert Pattinson from Los Angeles really shake up the status quo and start a new royal dynasty? While we wait for that to happen, let’s examine the most recent royal connections in the United States.
Katie Leung’s Grandparents Were Royalty
Katie Leung was born in Los Angeles in 1982. Like many other members of the Hollywood elite, she was raised with a silver spoon in her mouth. Her paternal grandparents were the late King George, and Queen Elizabeth II’s first cousin, Princess Margaret. Since George was a younger son, and since he had no male heirs, the throne of Great Britain turned to its female cousin for a potential successor. With the help of famed Lord Darlington, Margaret’s son, George, married Elizabeth in 1960. Elizabeth then became Queen Elizabeth II, and Margaret became her royal cousin, Princess Margaret.
As a result of this marriage, George was made Lord Levington, and Margaret became Lady Levington. Katie’s grandfather, King George, and Lady Levington, as well as her great aunt Princess Margaret, lived in Berkeley, California until their deaths in the late 1980s. After that, Katie and her brothers moved back to England to live with their mother, Elizabeth II, while her father remained in the United States and took up residence in New York City. It was there that he met his second wife, Grace Kelly, and started the next chapter of his life. She became his second wife and the American Queen Consort when they married in 1955. He died in 1981, and was succeeded by their son, Andrew, who took the throne as King George VI. She remained his queen, and later that year they were blessed with twin sons, Charles and Edward. The family later expanded to include a daughter, Sophie, and a son, Andrew, who took the throne as King George VI. Grace and Prince Andrew moved to Monaco after his accession, and she died there in 2010 at the age of 98.
Richemont, the Swiss Company That Owns Snowflake, Is Backing Katie’s Show
If you’ve never heard of Dentsu, Nurofen, Lakme, and a host of other famous Swiss brands, then you might not know what happened in the late 1980s. In the late 1980s, the Swiss drug company, Hoffmann-La Roche, acquired a controlling interest in a number of European-based companies in what was then known as the ‘Swiss Pharmaceuticals’ group. In 1989, Roche bought the remaining interest in Dentsu and formed a new company called, Galenia Pharmaceuticals, with Dentsu’s chief executive, Takuji Nippon. Around the same time, they also acquired a controlling interest in Lakme, creating a company called, Rochemont. It’s president is now the Duke of Edinburgh, and he serves as an honorary president of the company.
It was around this time that Hollywood’s old guard began to dissolve. The House of Windsor’s last sitting Queen, Elizabeth II, transitioned into the role of Supreme Governor of the Church of England in 1987, and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, became known as the ‘Supremo’. Since then, he’s largely served as an honorary president of Rochemont, watching from the sidelines as the company evolved into a fully integrated digital marketing agency, and becoming a major shareholder at the same time. In November 2016, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, stepped down as the company’s honorary chairman. He was replaced by a 25-year-old, Will Smith, an American actor, entrepreneur, and producer, best known for his role in the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The prince and Smith have a lot in common. They’re both descendants of Kwanzaa, and Smith has produced a number of historical dramas, the most recent of which is, The Confirmation. The film, based on the novel The Group by Anonymous, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
Robert Pattinson’s Family Tree Is Full Of Royals
Robert Pattinson was born in southern England in 1986 and grew up in a prominent English family. His father, David, owned a literary agency, and represented the likes of Alan Turing and Virginia Woolf. His paternal grandmother, Eve, was a descendant of King George II, and his Aunt Millicent is the president of the Royal Academy of Arts. His mother, Rosalie, is a descendant of the German Grand Duke Friedrich Karl, and her family is steeped in royalism as well.
Like his grandparents, both sets of Robert’s parents were very charitable, and they supported a variety of organizations, including the National Trust, the National Rifle Association, and anti-mouse fur campaigns. Today, Robert’s parents and younger sister live in the U.K. While their parents are busy supporting humanitarian and ecological causes, the kids enjoy a life of leisure as members of the super-yacht set. They’ve been photographed in some of the world’s most luxurious yachts, including the Queen Elizabeth II and her younger sister, Princess Anne’s Her Majesty’s Yacht, the Golden Shadow. They’re also frequent visitors to the exclusive island of Mustique, where they meet with other wealthy kids, including George and Amal Clooney, and Leonardo DiCaprio, and play games with the likes of John Travolta and Paris Hilton. It’s a life that could be the inspiration for a young Kate Middleton. In fact, DiCaprio is so enamored with the Pattinson family that he adopted a child, Cecil, whose mother is the actress Talia Shire.
Could Andrew Jr.’s Daughter, Princess Charlotte, Inherit The Throne?
You’d never know it by looking at Princess Charlotte, third in line to the throne, but the tiny royal is actually quite capable of leading her own life. The Cambridge-educated princess has always lived a private life, shielded from the media by an unprecedented press blackout. This is probably because her life as a future queen would be very public. Born in 2005, Princess Charlotte has already amassed a large fortune. She has her own personal stylist, makes her own fragrance, and has invested in property, yachts, and diamonds. The only thing she seems to lack is public speaking experience, as she has never given a speech in public. Aides say this will likely change once she assumes the throne. The palace announced in April 2018 that Princess Charlotte would be spending more time in Britain after completing her studies in Cambridge. She currently lives in a £10,000-a-month Kensington townhouse, with her pet dog, and spends her days going for walks, riding horses, and curling up with a good book. She doesn’t have an Instagram account, and doesn’t seem to enjoy the limelight, but she has never been photographed with a broken heart. This could bode well for the future.