Hello and welcome from Genetic Counsellor Matt Burgess

Hi! My name is Matt, and I am one of the genetic counsellors working at TrakGene.

I’m an Aussie guy, born in Sydney, and I grew up 150km to the north in Newcastle where I also completed my genetic counselling training. I have worked clinically in Sydney and Melbourne, and for the past four or so years I have been living and working in the USA.

Whether they admit or not, the coronation of King Charles III this coming weekend is an important milestone for Aussies as he won’t just be the King of the United Kingdom and Great Britain, he’ll be the King of Australia too. I don’t particularly identify as a Monarchist and I haven’t watched all that many Royal weddings and funerals in years gone by, but I must admit I am quite looking forward to the big event, because let’s face it, no one does pomp and ceremony quite like the Brits!

It wasn’t until I moved to the US that I realised just how much I knew about the British royal family (or how little Americans and other non-Commonwealth citizens know!) Not only will Charles be coronated, but his wife, Camilla, previously the Duchess of Cornwell, will be anointed with holy oil alongside Charles and crowned his Queen Consort. Only a handful of people are still alive to remember the last time a Queen Consort was coronated. The year was 1937 and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother was crowned alongside George VI after what is known as “the abdication” almost tore the Royal family apart… (but that’s a story for another day).

Why am I telling you all this on a genetics blog from TrakGene? Because dear readers, I believe genetics drive every great story, and they’re most certainly a source of intrigue for the British Royal Family!

The British royal’s family tree has been well documented. During my generics training, I remember learning about Queen Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria, as she was a carrier of hemophilia B, or factor IX deficiency. This particular family tree has been so well documented that a very industrious British academic David Lewis (2011) has worked out the line of succession to the British throne from Charles down the person 5753.