u/ChungusTheRedDragon

Okay, I think I've finally lost it. I started Greek mythology, and how the Argead dynasty claimed they were descendants of Hyllus, son of Heracles. Then from there, the Ptolemies claimed their founder was the illegitimate son of Philip II (They were related to the Argead dynasty anyway, but wanted more legitimacy I guess?), and all the way down through Cleopatra VII, to her daughter Cleopatra Selene II and her pretty difficult to trace descendants who disappear into roman nobility and client kings of north Africa and possibly Armenia!
Full size file: 24"x50"!

I recently learned on a research rabbit hole that the house of Neville (The Wars of the Roses King Maker) have a interesting ancestral claim. They claim descent from a certain Dolfin Fitz Uhtred and through this Dolfin, ancestry to the kings of Scotland, and to THE Uhtred the Bold. The historical figure Uhtred from the Saxon Chronicles/The Last Kingdom is based on.

I thought that this was just fascinating and had to map it out! Of course it wasn't cool enough that the king maker was a great-great grandson of Edward III (But I think at least 50% of the nobility was by the time of the Wars of the Roses/The Cousins War...) Nah, lets add folk legend hero.

Now I didn't see an explicit claim for another potential claim, but on a maternal side, where the actual Neville name came from, but if you keep going back you eventually hit a brick wall by the name of a name named "Charles de Courcy" who was a DUKE, which would imply he was possibly the son of a king, or the son of a king's brother, however this man was born around 923, so who knows. There are some dubious claims of him being the son of Charles The Simple, but there are no records of him having a son by that name? So once again my favorite sport of historians arguing with one another.

So please enjoy my excessive amount to deep diving!

Edit: just realized I wrote Henry III when I meant Henry VI! Dang it!

Hey all! So I'll admit I've never read these books but I enjoy the show, and I'm a big history nerd. So based on what I was able to look up, I did narrow down that it's canon the family were created as nobles some time in the 16th century, and the family's sigil is a bee (which I find hilarious). I mixed the book and show canon for the confirmed tree at the bottom.
Please enjoy the deep dive of his fictional family and how they could have tied into historical events and how quickly that can get uncomfortable that can get once we hit the mid 17th century.

So I started with an ancestor named Harold:
Master beekeeper to Lord Thomas Stanley 3rd husband to: My Lady the King's Mother, Margaret Beaufort.

His son, Thomas:
Named after Lord Stanley, Thomas served King Henry VII at Kings Langley Palace in Hertfordshire. He was given the honor of being a companion in childhood to Henry VIII.

His son, Edward:
Edward was knighted by by Lord Charles Brandon during a particularly showy joust he entered as a masked knight with the approval of his master an event hosted by the king and his new queen.

His son Henry (First viscount):
Made a Viscount by Queen Elizabeth I in 1562, after her battle with smallpox. He made a strong impression on her by supporting lord Dudly, and hearing word of his vigil for her health. Not asking for anything for his show of devotion for it. She granted him Aubrey Hall in Hertfordshire for his loyalty and fealty.

Second Viscount, Edward:
Edward was born just before his father was created viscount, but quickly became a favorite nephew-like child to the queen, and spent lots of time at court. He fought in the Armada.

Third Viscount, Thomas:
Thomas was a formal godson of the queen, and often got to enjoy visiting her at court as a small boy. When the Queen died, he met the new royal family and was recruited to become a companion of Prince Henry. When Henry died in 1612 Thomas returned to Aubrey to manage his estate.

Fourth Viscount, Charles:
Named for the heir to the throne, Charles had the misfortune of being an adult during the civil war. He did however have the foresight to make himself scarce from England, mostly taking a diplomatic position in France, while Aubrey was managed under a conservatory while he was gone.

Fifth Viscount, Robert:
Robert was born just as the Civil war was breaking out, and was taken abroad by his parents. He returned to France when he was 11. He then began learning his position and ways of the court under his parents and tutors, picking things up quickly. Then again in his 40s, the Glorious Revolution took place with Queen Mary II and King William III taking the throne from Mary's father.

Sixth Viscount, Charles II:
Charles II lived through the reigns of Charles II, James II & VII, Mary II & William III, Anne, and with the death of Queen Anne, The Hanoverians coming to the throne with King George I, and the very beginnings of George II.

Seventh Viscount George:
George, father of Edmund born in the reign of George I lived all the way through the American Revolution.

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Not mentioned in canon, but cannot be ignored, between the 1640s, and 1807 the British aristocracy were HEAVILY invested in the TAST. If the Bridgertons were a real family, we can easily assume that these 4 generations would easily have taken the risk, especially with the financial strain of the civil war, and gambled on the Atlantic trade. Which would honestly explain their excessive financial success in the current timeline in the show/books to comfortably support so many siblings.

So the slight elephant in the room, is the excessive wealth of this family with so many kids, and if you look at it, it can be divided into 2 categories.
The exclusion act in the early 1700s under George I, where thousands of families were pushed out of their ancestral homes and villages to make room for sheep, and heavy investment in the TAST... Considering where Aubry Hall (the location of the Bridgerton 'country' estate is... I have a not great assumption) but it is an unfortunate consequence of the regency period.
We can hope they pulled out of the trade as early as Edmund taking head of the family, but it could have been as late as 1807 under Anthony.