A Jewish King and Queen of England? It’s Possible
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Buckingham Palace Carole Goldsmith Dovid Efune Frances Ruth Burke Roche Isaac Bashevis Singer Jemima Goldsmith Jewish mother Jewish Queen Kate Middleton King of England Princess Diana Rothschild Sholem Aleichem Simon Jacobson Sir James Goldsmith
Wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton. Photo: Robbie Dale.
Two unrelated Jews from different walks of life meet in an unlikely place and discover they are connected. You’ve heard that story before in Jewish folklore. Well, it happened to me recently.
It was a few days before Passover. I had three hours to kill after leaving a meeting on West 57th Street in Manhattan before joining my wife and friends for dinner and then a show at Lincoln Center. It was a gorgeous sunny day—rare for the miserable winter we were experiencing. So I walked over to the new plaza at Lincoln Center. While I was taking in the sun in front of Avery Fisher Hall a young Chasid approached me. “Are you Jewish?” he asked. “Yes, ” I answered. He then asked me to put on tefillin and say a prayer.
It’s been a long time since I did tefillin and I was not keen on doing it right there on the plaza of Lincoln Center. I tried to squirm out. “I’ve got an appointment and have to leave,” I told him. He persisted. And he seemed so sincere and eager to perform this mitzvah persuading someone he probably perceived as a wayward son of Israel to perform a Jewish ritual that I caved. “Okay. I’ll do it.”
I removed my jacket and rolled up my shirt sleeve as he began winding the tefillin around my arm. I pointed to the leather box and said, “Oh, that has scripture from Deuteronomy and Exodus.”
He was surprised that I knew that.
“Well, I’ve taken Torah classes with Rabbi Simon Jacobson,” I told him, hoping he would realize that I wasn’t a total idiot about Judaism. “Do you know him?”
“Oh, yes,” he responded. “He’s a brilliant speaker and he has a newspaper.”
“Yes, I know—The Algemeiner Journal. I write for it.”
He couldn’t have been more shocked that this apparent apostate contributed to this prominent Jewish newspaper. “Do you know Dovid Efune?”
“Of course,” I said. “He’s the editor and I speak to him from time to time.” Again an astonished reaction.
In an excited tone he spilled out, “he’s my brother-in-law. He married my sister last year.”
“Isn’t that interesting,” I said. “At Rabbi Jacobson’s Rosh Hashanah dinner this past year I sat next to your sister and brother-in-law.”
He almost fell over. “You know, nothing happens by accident.” For him, it was a divine intervention—too unlikely to be an accident. Perhaps he was right.
That being said, what’s the chance of running into two Jews at Buckingham Palace and discovering that they are the King and Queen of England? Farfetched you say. Some curious emerging facts suggest that it could happen.
At first, the buzz indicated that Kate’s mother, Carole Goldsmith (maiden name), had Jewish ancestry. If Carole Goldsmith were Jewish then according to Jewish law her daughter Kate Middleton would be considered Jewish—and could become the first Jewish Queen (Consort) of England. But alas, investigators still believing that there was a Jewish heritage in Kate’s lineage, found that the last five generations of her family were married in Churches. Of course that doesn’t rule out that some may have been secret Jews, which was true for many Jews during the Inquisition. Other sources still suspect Jewish lineage for Kate, and according to an orthodox Sephardic Rabbi in Israel both parents of Kate’s mother were Jewish. So the question of Jew or not a Jew for Kate is still open.
But wait, the plot thickens. Could Princess Diana, William’s mother, have been Jewish? One source maintains that Princess Diana’s mother, Frances Shand Kydd, was Jewish –born Frances Ruth Burke Roche—a Rothschild.
If factual, that would be sufficient for Princess Diana to be certified Jewish, as well as her son, William, the future King of England. Another investigation of ancestry details a strong Davidic connection for Frances and her descendents.
Other intriguing bits of “evidence” and speculation have been cited in the London Daily Mail, which quotes sources that claim that Diana was conceived during her mother’s affair with the Jewish banker tycoon Sir James Goldsmith (originally Goldschmidt– and no apparent relationship to Carole Goldsmith). The report says that Frances was estranged from her husband, Earl Spencer (Viscount Althorp), and had an affair with Sir James Goldsmith just at the time that Diana was conceived. Strengthening the case, a report points to striking resemblances between Princess Diana and Sir James Goldsmith’s other three children, Zak, Ben, and Jemima Goldsmith.
If these tidings are true then Diana would be thoroughly Jewish with a Jewish mother (Frances Ruth Burke Roche—AKA Rothschild) and a Jewish father (Sir James Goldsmith). In turn William, the future King of England, would have deep Jewish roots.
What a myseh. Sholem Aleichem or Isaac Bashevis Singer couldn’t have told it better.
12:53 pm
Evidence is lacking in this highly speculative, rumor-filled report which should not have been published until substantive genealogy had been unearthed.
11:11 am
YESHUA LOOK AT THEM AND SAID,”HUMANLY THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE; BUT WITH GOD EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE”.(Matthew 19:26)This an interesting turn of events as we approach the very last days before the King of Israel returns. Watch and pray.
2:07 am
It’s definitely possible, but what I’ve learned from others follies is that looks can be deceiving. A gene test would confirm it all. But we know that’s not going to happen even if the Princes did want to know. But that Rothschild family is a very very large family. How far back can you go before you’re no longer considered Jewish? But we also have to be careful as not to reach so far because there are a lot of names that sound similar but not may be it. Roche and Rothschild (Roth, Roths) are different names. It’s like when I say my grandmother and her first born daughter (my aunt) looks exactly like a rich prominent woman and her rich family from a certain era. It doesn’t mean anything if we can’t find all the connections that fit although there are some names that fit, but timing and perhaps no recording (for appearance reasons) is not going to make it happen because maybe it really didn’t happen. There was no correlation. Sometimes, people just look similar. And it’s easily said that Princess Di got her looks from her mom with her dad’s, Spencer, smile and Prince William and Harry got their looks from both parents or actually their look-a-like uncles from Charles side. But…who knows. I saw lots of pics where Princess Di hung out with Jemima a lot. So, maybe she knew something she wouldn’t tell.
12:42 pm
Roth is a Swiss name. It means Red. My Mom’s maiden name was Roth. And she was a Mennonite.
2:45 pm
Listen…we’ve known all along that our women are princesses and our men are kings! What’s new? Nothing! Only this time, you’re getting all the details.
1:21 pm
My Grandmother comes from a Spanish Jewish line that left France in the 1930′s from what I v learnt this is not uncommon for London and home counties based Jews at that time , the irony is she married into an Anglican family who take there ancestors from the founders of St Johns college of Oxford university and relation to the dukes of Norfolk (cousins to the Tudor kings). so if it has happened in my family (and we new nothing of our Jewish ancestors till my grandfathers death 10 years ago ) I don’t see why it would be a shock that there is Jewish blood in the monarchy , however to call them jews I think is a little strong as I my self could never call my self a Jew , not that this is denial , but more a matter of belief and culture , not disrespect.
7:17 pm
Were Adam and Eve Jewish or Noah and his family?
Acts 17: 26(1)
26And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
9:41 am
Since I knew of Carole Middleton’s maiden name, I was always somewhat suspicious about her lineage.
Additionally, (and I don’t mean to sound as if I’m generalizing), but if you look at Kate’s brother and sister, James & Phillipa, they (especially James) can most definitely pass for Jews. They’re both have what appears to be an olive complexion (very UN Anglican) and well..you know..they kind of look “it”.
Frances Shand Kydd, sounds very unlikely. I knew she was a Catholic, which upsets the Anglican church a bit, yet, I would like to know where that got the Rothchild connection from. Please post the proof?
Rashi Rosenzweig
Israel
3:29 am
However charming the characterisation, the prospect that all have ‘Jewish sparks dancing in their hearts’ runs contradictory to our Tradition and practice.
6:59 pm
If we look deeply enough, everyone has Jewish sparks dancing in their hearts. May we all celebrate Hashem together in love and acceptance.
Brenda Shoshanna