In my own research, I have found that if your roots are English or Scottish, or even Irish, it is not too unusual to find descendancy from the nobility and/or monarchy. In the 17th century, many of those entering the New World were descendants of the ruling classes through younger brothers, sisters, or illegitimate but acknowledged sons/daughters thereof. Their fortunes may have diminished and they may have found themselves disenfranchised or out of favor with the current regime and so sought their fortunes in the New World. Also, any perceived enemy of the current king/nobility (and that included those who could not accept the form of worship favored by the monarch-of-the-moment), was fined, imprisoned, banished, beheaded, or worse. Banishment usually meant Holland or France until the 17th century, when the New World became a destination. Religious prisoners could be loaded on boats headed for the New World, with captains empowered to sell the prisoner into indentured servitude in payment of their (forced) passage. Many such religious prisoners, if not most, had upper class origins. If you find a noble in your tree, you may find a monarch not much further back, especially if your noble was in Scotland. And if you find in your line an illegitimacy, a descendancy from a female, or someone who became King with no claim at all to the throne, don't worry about it. So does Queen Elizabeth II.

Helen D.