The British Royal Ellen DeGeneres Is Distantly Related To

Ellen DeGeneres hosted her talk show "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" for 19 seasons. Her coming out was a historic moment for Hollywood. However, something you may not know is that she also has familial ties to the British monarchy. DeGeneres found out she was related to Catherine, Princess of Wales, with a special letter.

During a segment on DeGeneres' show called "Ye Olde Wedding Watch" from 2011, she discussed a letter she received from the New England Genealogical Society. DeGeneres quipped, "Which of course, I thought was from my lady doctor ... Turns out it means family." The letter said the team at the society was working to trace Kate Middleton's ancestry. DeGeneres read the letter aloud to the audience: "'As we were doing the research, we discovered that you're related to Kate via a man named Sir Thomas Fairfax and his wife, Agnes Gascoigne. You are distant cousins. You're 15th, but cousins still the same.'"

Since DeGeneres had been angling for an invitation to Kate and William, Prince of Wales', wedding for a while, she added, "I'm definitely invited to the wedding now." She also offered her party planning services for the bachelorette party.

The fact that Catherine, Princess of Wales, and Ellen DeGeneres are related isn't quite as shocking as when Gypsy Rose Blanchard was revealed to be supposedly related to Stassi Schroeder and Katie Maloney of "Vanderpump Rules" fame, but it's close. Unfortunately, the genealogical connection between Kate Middleton and DeGeneres was insufficient to secure the comedian an invitation to Kate's wedding. On the day in question, DeGeneres explained she and her wife, Portia de Rossi, watched the wedding from home.

"Yes, earlier today Prince William married Kate Middleton, and hundreds of guests from all over the world were there to hear those two little words: Where's Ellen?" DeGeneres joked (via YouTube). She reminded her audience about her and Kate's ancestral connections and said, "And, you know, since I'm cousins, I'm 15th cousins with Kate, that means that today I become royalty." She gave her best regal wave and even called William, Prince of Wales, "my new cousin" at the end of the segment. 

DeGeneres had fun and shared a doctored photo on Instagram in May 2015. In the falsified picture from William and Kate's big day, DeGeneres stands in the background and can be seen between their heads.

In 2016, Ellen DeGeneres was interviewed by Lorraine Kelly on her talk show "Lorraine," and DeGeneres gave an update on her lack of a bond with cousin Catherine, Princess of Wales. DeGeneres said, "You know, she refuses to acknowledge it. ... I don't know what's happening, but I'm not invited to any of the holiday affairs, nothing."

DeGeneres then explained the genealogy but described it a bit differently this time. She said, "[Kate's] my 14th cousin, twice removed," as opposed to 15th, which is what was reported previously. The "Finding Dory" actor also juxtaposed Kate's radio silence to the reaction of two other distant relatives of hers — actor Halle Berry and singer Madonna — who apparently "embrace it." Kelly had a solution for DeGeneres in the form of a photoshopped royal family photo, with DeGeneres added to the second row.

Although DeGeneres and Kate don't seem to know each other, DeGeneres is friends with Meghan Markle. Meghan and Prince Harry were even spotted at DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi's vow renewal in 2023. A fan took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share grainy snapshots of the royal couple amongst those in attendance. An insider told Page Six, "[Meghan and Harry] indeed attended and had a wonderful time celebrating Portia's birthday and the couple's vow renewal."