A pensioner who grew up in Aberdeen said he was left “stunned” after a DNA test revealed he is a descendant of King Robert the Bruce.
Andrew Innes, who now lives in London and works as a chef for Chelsea Football Club, said he had no idea what he would discover when he took an online heritage test to find out the history of his family.
The 78-year-old said when he left Aberdeen at the age of 18, his family hardly had “two pennies to rub together”, and that he “couldn’t believe it” when he found out he was a related to royalty.
The results of the DNA test shows he can trace his bloodline all the way back through 23 generations to Christina Bruce, the sister of Robert the Bruce, the King of Scotland from 1306 until his death in 1329.
This week, Mr Innes travelled north from London to his hometown of the Granite City to learn more about his family history, and visit the statue of his distant uncle on Aberdeen’s Broad Street.
Mr Innes said said: “We joined the Innes Clan Society, which has a lot of Americans in it as you would imagine, and since then I’ve taken a lot of interest in the wider Innes Clan.
“I had never really taken a great interest in my heritage before, and all I really knew was that my father was from Portknockie, but last year I decided to take a DNA test online and see what happened.
“I just couldn’t believe it when the results came through.
“Fancy thinking that I’m the distant nephew of Robert the Bruce, when you consider that when I was a boy we didn’t even have two pennies to rub together.
“It’s been amazing to find out about my family’s past.”