Benedict Cumberbatch once complained that ‘posh-bashing’ had got so bad in Britain that he was contemplating a move to America. Cumberbatch, who attended Harrow, moaned that people showed prejudice towards his background despite the fact that he is not actually that posh. ‘I wasn’t really born with a silver spoon in my mouth, or as part of the landed gentry,’ the Sherlock actor lamented.
However, next time the topic comes up Cumberbatch may wish to hold his tongue, as it turns out that the actor may be a lot closer to being a member of the ‘landed gentry’ than he first thought.
According to Kevin Schurer, a genealogist at the University of Leicester, Cumberbatch is the second cousin 16 times removed of Richard III. Cumberbatch is linked to Richard several times but the strongest link is through Richard’s mother, Cecily Neville, who was a member a very powerful medieval family.
Happy to embrace his roots, the actor was expected to read a poem in tribute to his late second cousin 16 times removed at Richard III’s burial today in Leicester Cathedral.
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