UK Man Finds Relatives, Royal Ties via DNA Test

A man in the United Kingdom has uncovered a network of unknown relatives and a potential link to medieval royalty through an affordable DNA test, highlighting the growing accessibility of genetic genealogy tools.

Brian Devitt, who did not know his birth parents, purchased a MyHeritage DNA kit last year for around 27 pounds during a promotional sale. After submitting a simple cheek swab, he received results within weeks that matched him with living family members, including a half-sister and distant cousins. He has since maintained regular contact with several of them, according to his public review on the Trustpilot platform.

As Devitt delved deeper into the online family tree features provided by the service, his ancestry traced back through historical records to branches of medieval nobility. He reported connections extending to William the Conqueror, the 11th-century Norman king who invaded England in 1066. While such discoveries captivate users, genetic experts emphasize that DNA testing alone cannot verify direct descent from specific historical figures like monarchs. Instead, shared genetic markers often reflect broad population intermixing over centuries, meaning many...