BBC Pointless' Alexander Armstrong embroiled in family scandal with links to the royals

Alexander Armstrong talks about his ancestry

Pointless host Alexander Armstrong fully expected to discover some rather grand ancestors when he appeared on the BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are? in 2010. However, nothing could have prepared the father of four for the scandal he uncovered, which involved the murder of a Baron.

"I've been called posh a lot of my life," he admitted at the beginning of his search. "And we grew up on the edge of quite a grand family, but as second cousins, you know, the junior wing."

He also admitted to his wife that he suspected there may well be some dark secrets lurking in his family's background.

"The trouble is, the only bits of the family that you know are obviously the bits that, conspicuously. the family wants us to know about. Maybe they were caught up in some scandal," he pondered

His royal connections were quickly established. He turns out to be a descendant of William the Conqueror, who was the first Norman King of England after defeating the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.

Alexander Armstrong discovered a regal connection during an appearance on Who Do You Think You Are (Image: Getty)

He is also distantly related to William Armstrong, founder of Cragside, whose family still owns Bamburgh Castle. He has ties to the sixth Earl and second Marquess of Worcester, Edward Somerset, who was one of the monarchy's biggest supporters during the Civil War in 1642.

A family member who worked in a royal household turns out to be the most intriguing branch of his tree, though, as her son becomes embroiled in a murder scandal.

It transpires that his six-time great-grandmother, Mary Boughton (1714-86), was a bedchamber woman to Queen Charlotte in an era when this was an enormously prestigious position.

Delving further into her life at Shropshire Archives he found correspondence, which indicated tension between her sons Edward and Charles.

“He is neither fish, flesh, nor good red herring,” Mary wrote to Charles about “indolent” Edward, who at one point was more than £14,400 in debt to his younger brother. This was a colossal sum in that era.

Alexander Armstrong made some shocking revelations about his ancestors on Who Do You Think You Are (Image: BBC)

Despite his apparent shortcomings, Edward ended up inheriting a baronetcy from a cousin, and foul play was suspected in the death.

The cousin in question, Sir Theodosius Boughton, was apparently poisoned, and Edward described the death as “wonderful news” in a letter.

Captain John Donnellan, brother-in-law to Theodosius, was convicted of the murder but there was a question mark as to whether Edward was in fact responsible.

Edward's good fortune seemingly did nothing to assuage his rivalry with his brother Charles, and a few hours before his death, he disinherited his sibling in favour of his illegitimate daughter.

Although Charles, who had married well and was awarded his own baronetcy, inherited his brother’s title, he wasn’t left Edward’s estate. The snub appears to have cost Sir Charles a peerage although that missed opportunity barely puts a dent in Alexander's aristotic credentials.