Di8217;s a descendant of Shakespeare 8212; Report

BERLIN, SEPT 6: Princess Diana may have been a direct descendant of William Shakespeare, a German academic has suggested in a book to be published on Friday. The German weekly Focus on Monday outlined the theory, put forward by Hildegard Hammerschmidt-Hummel, a professor of English Literature in Mainz.

The link dates back to 1617, when the Princess8217; direct ancestor, Lord William Spencer, married a certain Penelope Wriothesley, who was the illegitimate daughter of William Shakespeare. Her mother, Elizabeth Vernon, a member of the court of Queen Elizabeth I, married Henry Wriothesley when her out-of-wedlock pregnancy became apparent and scandalised society. Hammerschmidt-Hummel also seeks to prove that the mysterious 8220;Dark Lady8221; celebrated in one of the Bard8217;s sonnets and the 8220;Persian Lady8221; who figures in a Renaissance portrait are in fact the same woman 8212; Elizabeth Vernon.

Quoting academics, doctors and police investigators, the author notes that the 8220;unidentified woman8221; in the painting wasmore than seven months pregnant 8212; and Shakespeare8217;s friend at the time was also pregnant. A sonnet describing the loss of love 8212; similar to those written by the Bard 8212; is painted at the bottom of the portrait.

The woman8217;s rich garb reveals her position in the period8217;s high society 8212; another similarity to the scandal-wracked Elizabeth Vernon. Furthermore, the 8220;Persian Lady8221; portrait bears a striking resemblance to an earlier portrait of Elizabeth Vernon, the academic said, quoting a German criminologist .

According to him, the ultimate proof that the 8220;Persian Lady8221; was indeed Shakespeare8217;s mistress lies in a tiny detail. On her sleeve is a small portrait which, according to the theory, is of the Bard himself.