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How to Begin Tracing Royal Ancestors
It is a familiar family story: somewhere back in the tree there is a duke, a countess or even a king. Some of these stories are true, many are not, and the only way to know is to do the research. Tracing a line toward royalty is a demanding project, but with a clear plan it is also fascinating, and it teaches you a great deal of history along the way.
Start with yourself and work backward
Genealogists work from the known to the unknown. Write down what you know about yourself, your parents and grandparents, with dates and places. Confirm each fact with a record such as a birth, marriage or death certificate, a census entry or a church register. Every link in the chain must be documented. If you skip to a famous name and try to work forward, you will collect coincidences rather than evidence.
Use the records that exist
- Civil registration of births, marriages and deaths
- Census returns, which list households and relationships
- Church registers of baptisms, marriages and burials
- Wills and probate files, which often name relatives
- Immigration, naturalization and passenger records
- Land and tax records, which place families in a locality
Cross the ocean carefully
For many Americans the hardest step is the crossing from the New World to the Old. Records may not name the town of origin, and surnames often changed. Look for clues in naturalization papers, ship lists, letters, obituaries and family Bibles. Once you have a village or a parish, European archives and church books become available, though they may be in another language or an older script.
Understand how royal lines are documented
Royal and noble families were recorded in great detail: genealogical tables, peerage volumes, court records and published family histories. Once a line connects to a noble house, the trail is often easier to follow than for ordinary families. The challenge is proving the connection between the commoner and the noble house, and it is here that stories often fail. Illegitimate descent, name coincidences and confusion between people with the same name are common traps.
Weigh the evidence
Professional genealogists use a standard of proof: a conclusion should rest on a reasonable search of the available sources, careful citation, analysis of conflicting information and a written explanation. A family tree copied from another online tree is a clue, not a fact. Ask where the original author got the information, and check the primary source yourself.
Keep good records
Record every source as you find it, with the location, the date and what it says. Organize notes by family, keep copies of documents and back them up. A well-kept research log prevents repeating work and makes it easy to show others how you reached a conclusion.
Reference books that help
A shelf of reliable reference works saves years of effort. Guides that show the current royal families of Europe, tables of succession and studies of specific dynasties help you understand who was related to whom, and why. Our House of Willis imprint publishes reference volumes for exactly this audience, including guides to finding royal ancestors and annual reports on the royal families of Europe.
Be prepared for disappointment and discovery
Most researchers do not find a king. What they do find is a richer picture of their own family: the places they lived, the trades they followed and the events that shaped them. That is a good result in itself, and it is the reason so many people continue long after their first question has been answered.
See the books of the House of Willis imprint, or browse the Willis catalog for reference volumes on royalty and genealogy.