Is it King Frank II, Queen Brynda, or King Paul I?

A king or queen for America? Surely, you jest, Megan Smolenyak. A descendant of George Washington's father?

It's an interesting research problem, and Megan has a fun (?) time of it in the latest Ancestry Magazine cover story, The Man (or Woman) Who Would Be King. I learned a lot about royal succession. I'm not sure I understand it all, but now "agnate" and "cognate" are in my mental dictionary.

Of course, the course of Washington's family lines might have been different if George had agreed to be King. Where would the capital have been? Would we have royal castles spotted around the country? Would there have been a rebellion against King George I or his successors? Heck, would GW even have taken the title King George I - perhaps he would have selected another name!

It's a great article by Megan, please read it if you are a student of royalty or history. The whole story is an example of one of my favorite sayings - "there are moments in time that take a lifetime to explain."

By the way, did you notice that there is an article archive at http://www.ancestrymagazine.com/ for past issues?