"Better Call Saul" actor Bob Odenkirk discovered he has royal blood on a recent episode of PBS' "Finding Your Roots."
It turns out that Odenkirk is the 11th cousin of King Charles III of the U.K. The actor's great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Friedrich Carl Steinholz, was the son of the German Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön and his mistress, Maria Catharina Bein/Beinen.
According to internet personality Trey the Explainer (@trey_explainer), the duke later legitimized his son, and eventually, the British royal family intermarried with his Danish-German royal family.
He’s apparently descended from Frederick Charles, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Plön, and his mistress Maria Catharina /Bein Beinen. They had a son named Friedrich Carl Steinholz. The Duke later legitimatized him and this branch eventually created Saul Goodman. pic.twitter.com/Dn0icvf3nY
— Trey the Explainer (@Trey_Explainer) January 29, 2024
"Finding Your Roots" is the creation of historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. In each episode, Gates Jr. and his team dig into the genealogy and DNA of famous figures. Then, while the celebrities are being interviewed on camera, Gates Jr. reveals to them interesting, surprising and sometimes shocking facts about their ancestors.
In his on-air interview for the fifth episode in the show's 10th season, 61-year-old Odenkirk first expressed surprise at finding out he was related to a duke.
"I'm an American, I'm not a monarchist," he said of his European blue blood. "I don't believe in that. You know, I feel like it's a little twisted. I understand why society built itself around monarchs and leaders, and they passed them down through generations. I understand that goes through every society, every civilization. But I think that we've gone to a better place with democracy and that we should keep going down that road."
Odenkirk, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, was then shocked and amused at Gates Jr.'s immediate next revelation that he was distantly related to the reigning British monarch.
"Well maybe I'll change my mind on that," he joked, while guffawing. "That's so funny, man. Oh, that is crazy! I never even thought about that!"
You can see the full episode on PBS or streaming with a PBS Passport subscription. It also featured comedian Iliza Shlesinger.
This season, which began in January, has featured or is scheduled to feature Alanis Morissette, Brendan Fraser, Ciara, Dionne Warwick, Ed O'Neill, Lena Dunham, LeVar Burton, Michael Douglas, Sammy Hagar, Tracy Morgan and Valerie Bertinelli by the season's end in April.
This story was originally published by Anna Weaver on Simplemost.
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