As well as several connections through marriage, the Blacketts’ blood connection with H.M. The King (see THE ROYAL CONNECTION CAVEAT in the family tree opening page) goes back to King Malcolm III of Scotland and Queen, and later Saint, Margaret. The King has at least three lines of ancestry back to Malcolm, only one of which is so far recorded in the tree. Malcolm’s line can be traced back to his father, Duncan, (who was killed by his cousin, Macbeth, in 1040, only to be avenged by Malcolm 17 years later,) and beyond, and Margaret’s to beyond Alfred The Great. The wider descendants of Malcolm and Margaret have not been entered in the tree.
There is also a second line of ancestry back from the Blacketts, through the Umfreville and Comyn families, to King Donald III of Scotland, the younger brother of King Malcolm III. This provides an additional blood link between the Blacketts and H.M. The King.
Some 19th century Blackett researchers believed that descent from William the Conqueror could also be claimed through his supposed daughter Maud, who married Malcolm’s son, David. However, she was probably William’s great-niece.
Several sources claim that one of Malcolm’s descendants, Robert, Earl of Huntingdon, was the real Robin Hood. He certainly seems to have had his lands confiscated by King John, while King Richard was away at the Crusades, but that may not have been a unique experience during those times.
In Kirklees Park, Yorkshire, is an inscription on a wall which translates as:
Here underneath this little stone
Lies Robert Earl of Huntingdon
Never was there an archer so good
And people called him Robin Hood
Such outlaws as he and his men
Will England never see again
December 1247
Unfortunately, the stone is believed to date from the 17th century, so, in genealogical parlance, Robin Hood’s connection to the Blacketts may not be fully secure.
(Note. For the connection between the Blacketts and the future King William through his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Carole Middleton, please see And Finally, a Tale of (Prince) George and the Dragon)