Few people know that the British royals can trace their family roots to the small Transylvanian village of Erdőszentgyörgy (the Hungarian name) or Sângeorgiu de Pădure (the current Romanian name), where Claudine Rhédey de Kis-Rhéde (AKA Claudine the Beautiful) was born on her family estate, Rhédey castle.
In 1835, she married Duke Alexander Paul Ludwig Konstantin of Württemberg who was a German nobleman and she was styled as Countess von Hohenstein.
Their son, Francis Duke of Teck, was the father of Mary of Teck, queen consort to George V of the United Kingdom. The current British monarch (King Charles III) is Claudine's great-great-great-grandson.
She died very young following a tragic accident and the Countess' remains were interred in the family crypt in the Reformed Church of Sângeorgiu de Pădure (Transylvania) - photos shown above.