Tribute to lord hints at Irish businessman’s royal links

Genealogists have discovered a distant “rags-to-riches” Irish cousin of Britain’s Prince William on a 19th century document dedicated to an English lord.

The artefact — known as the Morpeth Roll — contains the signatures of more than 160,000 Irish people paying tribute to George Howard, or Lord Viscount Morpeth, when he left his post as chief secretary of Ireland in 1841.

It measures 420m long — three times the length of Croke Park — and is being published online after a four-year project to digitise the testimonial.