We suppose that’s where the actor gets his flair for drama.
Star of Sherlock and Doctor Strange Benedict Cumberbatch is ‘directly related’ to the man who created his onscreen character Sherlock approximately 130 years ago.
Researchers at ancestry.com made the discovery. The actor and author of the Sherlock Holmes detective series are 16th cousins twice removed (it’s not exactly 10th cousins once removed but we’ll take it!).
They share in common the ancestor John of Gaunt, Earl of Lancaster and son of King Edward III of England. Gaunt is Cumberbatch’s 17th great-grandfather and Doyle’s 15th great-grandfather. Gaunt was also a close friend of the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, so writing runs in the family it seems.
When Benedict’s connection to British Royalty was confirmed, it opened new possibilities of genealogies, according to Michelle Ercanbrack, historian at ancestry.com.
Series 4 of Sherlock premiered on New Year’s Day and continues this Sunday on BBC One.
