Madragana Bat Aloandro

Sometime in the 1240s, King Afonso III of Portugal took on a bunch of lovers, as kings tend to do. His wife, Matilda, couldn't produce a healthy heir, and besides, it's good to be the king, right?

Afonso's most famous mistress was the mysterious Madragana, who bore the king a son and a daughter. We'll get back to the son later.

Little is known about Madragana, and yet, a lot of people want a piece of Madragana. She might have been Muslim. She might have been Black. She might have been Jewish: if you go six generations up her family tree, you spot the first of many rabbis! (Alas, if you only go up four generations, you get a note: "converted to Christianity".)

So why is her heritage so important? Well, it all goes back to Afonso's first-born son, Martim Afonso Chichorro. He is the many-times grandfather of Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen consort to George III. (Yes, THAT George III.) This makes our dear Madragana 19-great grandmother to the current British king, Charles III!

Eagle-eyed readers note that we already mentioned Madragana in the profile of Charlie's mum, written back in 2012, but we decided to dig even deeper. As it turns out, Madragana didn't just plant a Jewish seed in the British line. Traces of her lineage can be seen in the French Bourbon dynasty, and in the current kings of Spain and Belgium!

What does it all mean? Absolutely nothing, other than a fun little factoid you're free to share at the next family gathering. Oh, and if you were wondering what happened to Afonso III, he eventually married a 10-year-old, who was able to produce a legitimate heir to keep the Portuguese line going... without Jewish roots.

Not that we know of!