Benedict Cumberbatch is so posh that he’s an ACTUAL COUSIN of King Richard III

Is it weird that we fancy Cumbers even more for this?

Published on6th January 2015 at 10.42am

We knew that Benedict Cumberbatch was a right old posho – but now it’s emerged that he’s a distant relation of the royals. Which is even more aristocratic than we’d ever imagined. Yah!

Professor Kevin Schurer – the bloke who was behind the discovery of Richard III’s remains in a Leicester car park in 2012 - has proved that Cumbers is a third cousin of the king, 16 times removed.

In case you’re wondering (and, er, you shouldn’t be because didn’t you listen in your history lessons at school?) Richard III died in 1485, so there won’t be any Trisha-style jolly family reunions happening. Damn.

Richard III: not quite as fit as Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict is currently preparing to play the monarch in new BBC series The Hollow Crown (squeal). Maybe he won't need so much make up then, seeing as he's actually related to the king.

And if you want to be just like Benedict, you’ll be pleased to know that between one and 17 million people in the UK are also related to Richard. Erm. Wouldn’t that make US Cumber-cousins, though? Eww.

However, Professor Schurer insists Bennie’s lineage is more direct than the average Joe and that THIS IS STILL A MASSIVE DEAL.

“He is more direct because he is a third cousin. Most other relatives would be much lower order cousins.

“I think the Queen would be a third cousin several times removed as well.”

In other Benedict Cumberbatch related to famous posh people news, he's also been found to be related to brainbox mathematician Alan Turing – who Ben played in The Imitation Game.

Now we just need to prove that Benedict is related to Sherlock Holmes and we’ll be extremely happy. Oh, wait, Sherlock isn’t real…