Skip to content
Cookies on Findmypast: We use our own and third-party cookies to improve your experience, for advertising purposes, and to understand how people use our website.
Learn more
Findmypast Friday February 1st
A poem by a former evacuee
Beyond the Workhouse: More Records for Tracing the Poor
Famous Family Trees: Imelda May
Irish Genealogy Game-Changers: 10 Million Catholic Parish Registers FREE FOREVER on Findmypast
How Findmypast DNA Can Grow Your Family Tree
5 Common Irish Genealogy Brick Walls and How to Overcome Them
5 Steps for Tracing that Hard-to-Find Irish Ancestor
Introducing Military Hints
Introducing the Findmypast App
Royal Irish Constabulary pensions 1873-1925
2.7 Million Additional Newspaper Articles Added
Pre-1901 Irish census records online for the first time
5 Essential Tips for Searching Our FREE Irish Catholic Parish Registers
How to Search Findmypast's UK Parish Records
Griffith's Valuation, the gateway to Irish research
The Best Way to Find What You're Looking for in Historical Newspapers
How to Find Ancestors Using Irish Birth, Marriage and Death Records
My Findmypast DNA Success Story
How to Use Your Findmypast Family Tree: Advanced Features
Getting StartedBuild Your Family TreeDNAFamily RecordsWhat's New?Help HubDiscoveriesHistory HubThe Findmypast Community
  1. Blog Home
  2. Discoveries
kit-harringtons-family-tree-header

Kit Harington's Family Tree of Thrones

Picture of Niall Cullen - Senior Content Strategist
Niall Cullen
15 April 2019

Kit Harington's family has connections with royals, traitors, philanthropists and military greats

Much like his
Game of Thrones character Jon Snow, Kit Harington's ancestry is littered with noteworthy figures. The actor has even played his own ancestor by appearing as Robert Catesby in BBC's Gunpowder. Keep reading for more on that.



Let's take a closer look at Kit Harington's fascinating family tree.

Royal Roots

Kit's connections to royalty start on his paternal line. His great-grandfather, Sir Richard Harington was 12th Baronet and High Sheriff of Herefordshire, while his great-uncle Kenneth Harington married the Queen's cousin, Cecilia Bowes-Lyon.

Findmypast - London office

Can you see any family resemblance? Birmingham Daily Gazette, 2 April 1937

Harington's royal family tree doesn't stop there. His four times great-grandfather, George Legge was appointed Lord Chamberlain, the most senior officer of the Royal Household, from 1804 to 1810.

Findmypast - London office

Frances' great grandfather, Heneage Finch not only has a name like a character from
Game of Thrones, but he also lived like one. He was a key player in the Popish Plot, an alleged conspiracy to assassinate King Charles II in the 1670s. Ultimately, Harington can trace his blue blood back to the same monarch. Charles II is Kit's eighth-great-grandfather on his father's side.

Harington Family Heroes

Like most British families, the Haringtons also have deep-rooted military connections. The
1911 Census of England and Wales lists Kit's paternal great-grandfather Ernest Denny as a Major Reserve of Officers in the 19th Hussars.

Findmypast - London office

Ernest's father, Thomas Denny shared his son's strong sense of duty but for a different cause. He was a keen supporter of the Salvation Army and even paid the first year's rent on the organisation's headquarters in London.

The Catesby Connection

Through his maternal line, Kit Harington is directly descended from Robert Catesby, the mastermind behind the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In a quirky coincidence the actor played Catesby in a TV show about the famous conspiracy.

Catesby's legacy lives on in Harington's family today. It is Kit's mother's maiden name and his middle name.

What Will You Discover in Your Family Tree?



;