PRINCE Harry and girlfriend Meghan Markle are distant cousins, it has been revealed.

The prince, who started dating the American actress last year, has more in common with the 36-year-old than first thought as a genealogical investigation discovered the couple are both related to a High Sheriff of County Durham, a 15th Century ancestor of the Queen Mother.

Researchers say both can be traced back to Sir Ralph Bowes and his wife, Margery Conyers, of Hornby, near Bedale - Ms Markle’s ancestors from 15 generations ago - whose family seat, Streatlam Castle, near Barnard Castle stood on the site for more than 600 years.

Weardale royalist, Anita Atkinson, said she was thrilled with the discovery.

She said: “Meghan will be fine if her ancestor is the Queen Mother because she was a fantastic lady who saved the monarchy.”

Researchers claim Ms Markle, who has previously stated "my dad is Caucasian and my mom is African-American", is connected to the royal family by the forebears of her father, Thomas.

The Queen Mother was linked to the North-East as she was born Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, the daughter of the 14th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and her relatives John and Josephine Bowes built The Bowes Museum, in Barnard Castle.

Sir Ralph's grandson, Christopher Hussey, emigrated to America in 1632, and helped found Nantucket, Massachusetts.

The Streatlam estate, in Teesdale, continued to be passed down through male heirs and was linked to the royal family when Sir George Bowes, an MP, inherited it.

His second wife gave birth to one child, a daughter – Mary Bowes – who in 1767 married John Lyon, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.

John Lyon added Bowes to his name – a strict condition of inheriting Streatlam – and the Bowes-Lyon dynasty was forged.

Five generations later, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon married the Duke of York, and the couple would later become George VI and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

It is not the first time the Queen Mother has been linked with potential future princesses as it was reported in 2014 how Kate Middleton, also shared a common ancestor with her in Sir William Blakiston, of Gibside Hall, near Gateshead.