Overview

• The former Pop Idol winner traced his family tree to reveal King Edward I as his 20-times great-grandfather and Hugh Le Despenser as his 18-times great-grandfather.
• He discovered that his grandfather, Digby Young, survived as a bomber pilot, endured captivity at Stalag Luft III and performed a makeshift amputation to save a Nazi guard.
• Moved to tears by his grandfather’s previously unknown heroism and family’s misconceptions, Young paid tribute with a tattoo of a plane and Digby’s squadron number.
• Young quipped that learning of royal descent “will change my behaviour” and said he might apologize for the misdeeds of his 14th-century ancestor.
• The episode of Who Do You Think You Are? featuring Young’s discoveries airs on BBC One on June 3 at 9 pm.