>Her full title (in the UK) is:

Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith. <

I missed the Normandy part.

>I can't see how Queen Elizabeth is a direct descendant of William the Conqueror....

Neither could I, however Wikipedia has an article purporting to show how the current monarchs descend directly from William.

It seems rather flimsy to me.

>The Queen is descended from ... and the Merovingians...

And I am descended from Adam.

((I))

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Descent...from_William_I

Not a myth I'm afraid.

Hi W,

I don't think that it is a myth, just that the line of descent is rather flimsy.

For example, the Hanoverian line descends from Sophia, "Through the Act of Settlement 1701, an Act of the Westminster Parliament which sought to suspend the normal laws of inheritance to the English and Scots thrones, Sophia was declared the heiress presumptive to her first cousin once removed, Queen Anne ..".

Isn't it somewhat unusual for a first cousin, once removed to be considered a direct descendant?

This isn't the only example.

((I))

Like MissPrism, I thought "frog" began with Queen Elizabeth I, which she used as a term of affection, though the eating of frog's legs is a good explanation. Lots of xenophobic slurs seem to be based on food. My favourite is the Italian-Canadian term "mangiacake".

Ira

You are onto a red herring there.

While Sophia was not a direct descendent of Charles I, she was James I's grand-daughter, thus of the direct line.

There have been many monarchs not of the direct line, but good Queen Bess isn't one of them.

My 2¢ to this:

If you kiss a frog are you actually kissing a French person, or if you kiss a French person are you actually kissing a frog?

One of my favorite restaurants in Paris is Freddy the Grenouille. It must be official because the front window is filled with little Kermits and his green cousins, etc.

If you kiss a French person, will he turn into a handsome prince.

bm