The craziest conspiracy theories about the royal family

From half-reptile rulers to secret love children, the stories are juicier than anything on TV.

Former BBC presenter David Icke has revealed himself as a conspiracy theorist, and one of his kookiest theories has to do with the royal family. Icke and others claim the royal family of the United Kingdom and all other countries are part of the Illuminati, and all of them earned their power because their human ancestor mated with reptilian aliens. He claims the theory explains why royal families are obsessed with keeping their bloodlines “clean” with other royals, and insists he’s talked to people who have seen people in power change into reptiles and back again.

Shape-shifting may not feature, but here are some of the hidden talents of the royals. 

Diana admitted she had to visit a gynaecologist before marrying Prince Charles to make sure she could bear children, but some people took that fact and ran. The Globe ran an article in 2014 claiming that during the examination, the doctor took some of Diana’s eggs and used in vitro fertilisation to combine it with Charles’ sperm. Without permission, one doctor snuck one of the embryos for his wife to carry, and the “royal baby Sarah” was born just after the royal wedding in 1981 – even before William – and the royal family kept it hush-hush. Strangely close similarities between Diana and her supposed daughter (right down to eyeliner colour), not to mention Sarah’s conspicuous silence, has led people to believe the photos of her are computer-generated images the Globe made based on photos of the late princess. It seems the publication based the story on a novel by Nancy Ryan, which had a similar storyline about the couple’s fictional long-lost daughter, Olivia.

Here are 12 more ‘facts’ about Princess Diana that just aren’t true. 

Leading up to her death, Princess Diana did seem to have some eerie premonitions. After she and Charles divorced and before he remarried, Diana wrote a letter that she felt in danger because someone was “planning ‘an accident’ in my car, brake failure and serious head injury in order to make the path clear for Charles to marry.” Despite Diana’s suspicions, though, evidence has consistently pointed to her driver’s drinking as the cause of the accident.

Learn about the royal family scandals that shocked the world. 

Clearing Charles for remarriage isn’t the only motivation conspiracy theorists claim for the royal family wanting to off Diana. Egyptian businessman Mohamed al-Fayed, father of Diana’s boyfriend, spread rumours that Diana was pregnant with his son’s child and that Prince Philip couldn’t stand the fact that his grandson would have an Egyptian Muslim as a stepfather. But post-mortem examinations didn’t find any evidence that Diana was pregnant.

After Kate Middleton gave birth to Charlotte, rumours flew that she’d never actually carried the baby. Some claimed her belly didn’t seem big enough for a post-baby bump, while others said, “there is no special maternal look in her eyes.” Neither signs seem at all convincing.

Learn the pregnancy rules all royals have to follow.

In the 16th century, King Henry VIII sent his young daughter, Elizabeth Tudor, to a small village to avoid the plague. Supposedly, she died while there, and her governess was terrified to tell the king (known for killing off his wives) that they’d failed to keep his daughter safe. Instead of fessing up, they tried to find a girl her age to take his place, but the small village didn’t have anyone suitable. Instead, they asked a farm boy named Neville to be the decoy. The plan worked, and the child swap explains why the Virgin Queen never married, according to conspiracy theorists. Sounds outlandish, but the theory had one famous supporter: Dracula author Bram Stoker, who popularised the idea in his “nonfiction” book Famous Imposters.

Check out these rarely seen photos of royal siblings. 

What royal family is complete without rumours of illegitimate children? For years, people have suspected that Prince Harry is actually the son of James Hewitt, who had an affair with Princess Diana. Though some say the affair didn’t start until after Harry was born, playwright Jon Conway claims Hewitt admitted it started 18 months before his birth. Conway even wrote a play about the fatherhood question that premiered in 2014.

For some real scandals, check out the 11 biggest lies that made history.

A man named Robert Brown spent £100,000 trying to prove he was the child of Princess Margaret (Queen Elizabeth II’s late sister) and her former flame Group Captain Peter Townsend. Brown claimed Margaret had given birth to him in January 1955 but kept the pregnancy a secret using body doubles, then sent the baby to Kenya to be raised by high-society parents. As an adult, he even won a lawsuit allowing him to see his supposed mum’s will, but it didn’t reveal the adoption like he’d hoped.

Prince Charles really is related to Vlad the Impaler, the 15th-century ruler who might have inspired the story of Dracula and even has a house in Transylvania. Of course, despite the headlines claiming Charles is Dracula’s heir, the vampire never really existed.

You’ll be shocked by these 12 conspiracy theories that turned out to be true.