Chris De Burgh's Scottish roots revealed

London, Mar 24 : Argentinian born British musician and songwriter Chris de Burgh has traced his family tree back to Robert the Bruce, the King of the Scots.

Chris' ancestor Elizabeth de Burgh became the Bruce's second wife in 1302, and four years later they became King and Queen of Scots. The two then went on to have four children, including a son in 1324 who became King David II of Scotland.

"I am related to Robert the Bruce on my mother's side. My grandfather, General de Burgh, came from County Kild are in Ireland and our roots go back to the Normans and William the Conqueror," the Daily Record quoted him as saying in an exclusive interview.

"The De Burghs have an interesting family tree. My grandfather was very good at looking up family trees and history and I have a number of his books charting the various branches," he said.

According to records, Elizabeth was the Scots-born daughter of the powerful Richard de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and his wife Margarite de Burgh.

'The Lady in Red' star, who uses his mother's surname, believes his lineage stretches back to the Crusades and Richard the Lionheart, who reigned over England in the 12th century.

"The De Burghs settled in Ireland and were vast landowners. My grandfather became one of many in his family who were admirals and bishops and he became a general and fought in the Boer War and in the trenches in the GreatWar," he said.

"My grandfather was a fine man who bought the castle I grew up in.

"He lived with us until he died. It was great because we would all sit around a big table at dinner and he would tell stories of the Raj and elephant parades and the like," he added.

Chris, who is 59-years-old, is about to make a name for himself in the history books, for in the summer, he will become the first Western pop singer to perform in Iran since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.

He will play an open-air concert in Tehran in collaboration with an Iranian rock band called Arian, and has already recorded a song with the band called 'The Words I Love You'.

ANI