But Markle, whose mother is black and whose father is white, may not be the first mixed-race royal.
In the 13th century, "Alfonso III of Portugal conquered a little town named Faro from the Moors," said Valdes, a researcher for Frontline PBS. "He demanded [the governor's] daughter as a paramour. He had three children with her."
According to Valdes, one of their sons, Martin Alfonso, married into the noble de Sousa family, who also had black ancestry. Queen Charlotte had African blood from both families.
He discovered that a royal physician, Baron Christian Friedrich Stockmar, described Queen Charlotte as "small and crooked, with a true mulatto face.