In the quiet city of Rostock, Germany, a therapist named Karin Vogel is living a remarkably ordinary life with an extraordinary connection to the British monarchy. Born on 4 February 1973 to Wolfram Vogel and Ilse von der Trenck, Vogel is the youngest of three siblings. Yet, through a distant lineage tracing back to the 18th century, she is technically in line to inherit the British crown.
Vogel is a direct descendant of Sophia of Hanover, the German princess whose descendants were guaranteed the succession to the British throne by the Act of Settlement 1701. This legislation, enacted to secure a Protestant line of succession, remains the precedent for determining who belongs in the royal succession today. Sophia, Electress of Hanover, is Vogel’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother—making Vogel a ninth cousin, once removed, of King Charles III.
Genealogist David Williams meticulously compiled a list of living descendants of Sophia, including Roman Catholics, to map the full line of succession. In 2011, Vogel appeared at number 5,753 on the list, though the figure will have significantly shifted since with the passage of time and the births and deaths of those ahead of her.
Vogel first learned of her royal connection as a family anecdote. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal in 2011, she recalled: “We knew there was a connection. It was always an anecdote in our family.”
On discovering her formal place in the succession, she added: “I had no idea about my place in this ranking. It was interesting for me, and also funny, to find out where I stand in this long row.”
Despite the historical significance, Vogel has no ambitions for the throne. When asked whether she would like to be Queen, she remarked: “That would definitely be too stressful for me and my family. I can lean back and relax, I am number 5,753, it’s comforting that I don’t have to worry about Britain.”
