Anne Hegerty, best known as the formidable “Governess” on The Chase, has revealed a surprising ancestral link to King Charles — but don’t expect her to be knocking on the palace gates anytime soon.

The 66-year-old quizzer discovered her distant royal connection while appearing on ITV’s DNA Journey in 2022. During the show, she learned that she is the 19th cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, making her 19th cousin once removed to King Charles.

The connection stems from Anne’s great-great-grandfather, Sir John Hay, who was a direct descendant of Sir Thomas de la Hay, husband of Princess Elizabeth Stewart — daughter of King Robert II of Scotland.

Despite the prestigious lineage, Anne made it clear she has no ambitions to rub shoulders with royalty. Speaking to Best magazine, she said: “I’ve never actually met a member of the Royal Family and I’m okay with that. I don’t particularly have any penchant to meet them.”

While she respects the monarchy and enjoys reading about them, Anne insists she’s perfectly content admiring them from afar: “I like them… But I don’t have any ambition to meet them.”

She also noted an interesting royal-quiz show connection — Queen Camilla is a cousin of Judith Keppel, the first-ever winner of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and former Eggheads panellist. Even so, Anne remained firm: “I’m not really interested in meeting Camilla either.”

Anne humorously added that she suspects some royals might secretly enjoy quiz shows, suggesting that the late Queen Elizabeth became a fan of Pointless during the pandemic.

Reflecting on her family’s stories, Anne admitted she was long skeptical of her grandmother’s claims about royal heritage: “My grandmother was the most tremendous liar,” she said during DNA Journey. My aunt said she was a romancer… so I always felt that anything from my grandmother had to be taken with a pinch of salt.”

Her mother, she recalled, was equally dismissive: “She’d say, ‘It doesn’t prove a thing, dear.’ She thought if I found out there were posh connections, I’d grow up to be a terrible snob.”

Laughing, Anne added: “But I’d already grown up a snob by then!”