star appeared stunned after discovering that she’s related to II, admitting that she didn’t previously believe her grandmother’s stories about her lineage.
For tonight’s episode of DNA Journey on ITV, the quiz whizz was joined by her co-star as they embarked on a road trip filled with unexpected revelations.
At one point, they were speaking to a historian in Edinburgh when it emerged that Anne had a royal connection, as they were informed that she’s a 19th cousin of the monarch.
That wasn’t all, as the 63-year-old also found out that King Robert the Bruce, who was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329, is her 20-times great grandfather.
Anne’s eyes widened as she saw the Queen’s name pop up on the family tree presented to her, expressing surprise over the fact that their link was ‘legitimate’.
She revealed that her grandmother might have previously hinted at their familial link to royalty – but she was ‘the most tremendous liar’.
The TV personality, known as The Governess on The Chase, explained that her aunt said that her grandmother was ‘a romancer life wasn’t exciting enough for her so she’d embroider it a bit, so I always felt that anything granny had to be taken with a pinch of salt’.
She added that her mother ‘was always deeply disapproving of the idea of anyone knowing about their ancestors’.
‘She’d say, “It doesn’t prove a thing, dear,”’ Anne recalled.
‘I was like, “I don’t care what you think, I want to know,’ the former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! star added, although she admitted that she’s ‘cynical’ about families.
Shaun, aka The Chase’s Dark Destroyer, jokingly refused to call his colleague Queen Anne after discovering her connection to royalty.
The 61-year-old couldn’t believe that Anne hadn’t previously told him about her surprising lineage over the several years they’ve worked together.
When the programme explored Shaun’s ancestry, he was able to go back eight generations to the early 1700s, discovering a relative who gained a great fortune in Cuba.
Last month, Anne announced that she had been after testing positive for Covid-19, revealing that quizzer Issa Schultz, known as The Supernerd on The Chase Australia, would be taking her place.
‘Unfortunately I’ve contracted Covid-19 so won’t be filming this series of #BeatTheChasers. The fantastic @Issa25 will be stepping in for me and I’m looking forward to watching the series when it’s on air later this year. I feel fine, but I’m still positive! (in all respects),’ she wrote on Twitter.
DNA Journey airs tonight at 9pm on ITV and is available to watch on ITV Hub.
