One imagines Saul Goodman, the devious but creative lawyer from Better Call Saul, would have found a great angle to make a quick buck on this one.
For the actor Bob Odenkirk has discovered that he is King Charles III’s 11th cousin.
Odenkirk, who grew up in Chicago, the second eldest of seven siblings born to Catholics of German and Irish descent, laughed in amazement and said, “That is crazy!” when he was told the news of his royal lineage by host Henry Louis Gates Jr on PBS ancestry-based TV show, Finding Your Roots.
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The show’s researchers found that Odenkirk had ancestors in Plön, Germany, and that Odenkirk is descended from the Duke of Plön, who was related to the royal families of Europe via marriage.
When told about his connection to the duke, in a clip published online, Odenkirk says: “[It makes me feel] like a part of history that I didn’t think I was any part of, but I’m an American. I’m not a monarchist. I don’t believe in that,” Odenkirk says.
“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 civilisation.
“But I think that we’ve gotten to a better place with democracy and we should keep going down that road.”
Gates then drops the bomb that he is told that his actually King Charles III’s 11th cousin. He bursts out laughing and says: “Well maybe I’ll change my mind on that… That’s so funny, man. Oh, that is crazy!”
