Kit Harrington's Royal Ancestry

Kit Harrington as Jon Snow

Kit Harrington, who plays Jon Snow on the hit TV show Game of Thrones, has royal ancestry.  In fact, he can trace his lineage all the way back to King Charles II, who ruled Great Britain during the late 1600s.

King Charles II

King Charles II was the eldest son of King Charles I, who clashed with Parliament over religious, financial, and political matters.  Both his refusal to work with Parliament as well as his belief in the Divine Rights of Kings contributed to the English Civil War between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians.  After defeating the Royalists, the Parliamentarian general Oliver Cromwell ordered that King Charles I be tried for treason.  In 1649, King Charles I was executed, and Great Britain was briefly governed by Parliament under Oliver Cromwell.  Eventually, the eldest son of King Charles I returned from his exile to be crowned King Charles II.  His reign brought about the restoration of the Stuart monarchy and the end of republican rule.

King Charles I

King Charles I is remembered as one of the least successful British monarchs.  However, as the second son of King James I, he was initially not expected to inherit the throne, and the heir to throne was his popular elder brother Prince Henry Stuart.  Unfortunately, Prince Henry died at age 18 of typhoid fever, creating a succession crisis.  Considering that the reign of King Charles I ended disasterously, I wonder how historical events during the 1600s would have played out had Prince Henry lived.

Because Prince Henry never became king, little is known about him.  Although Kit Harrington is directly descended from King Charles I and King Charles II, I believe that Kit Harrington looks more like Prince Henry than either of these two kings. Indeed, Kit Harrington bares a strong physical resemblance to his Stuart ancestors.

Prince Henry Stuart

Kit Harrington

http://ethnicelebs.com/kit-harington http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/periods/stuarts/death-prince-henry-and-succession-crisis-1612-1614
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/charles_ii_king.shtml
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/charles_i_king.shtml