Since the beginning of the show Who wants to be a millionaire? only six people have managed to win the jackpot of £1m. And the first-ever contestant to win the jackpot – Judith Keppel – was none other than a distant cousin of Queen Consort Camilla.
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2nd Edition of Who wants to be millionaire - Twitter edition.
— Ted Littledale (@_superted) April 20, 2020
This one recreates the questions answered by the first ever £1,000,000 winner, Judith Keppel. https://t.co/Kg4NhPJOlFpic.twitter.com/lCcqYh7zUv
Millionaire cousin
In the final round of the TV quiz show, Judith Keppel answered that Henry II was the husband of Eleanor of Aquitane and that’s how she became the first-ever contestant to win the £1m jackpot.
Reportedly, she had Royal connections yet claimed that she was poor. The then 58-year-old Judith was struggling after two divorces and was trying to find work, according to My London. She confessed:
I targeted one episode, and I basically stayed on the telephone until they answered, which took about a day and a half.
Judith Keppel you absolute fucking legend pic.twitter.com/2nB6G03YgP
— Sam Delaney (@DelaneyMan) September 17, 2021
I calculated, if each call cost 75p, I’d get all that back if I got into the chair - forgetting about the fastest finger round.
At one point BT rang me up and said, ‘do you realise your telephone’s being used rather a lot? I was pretty skint after my divorce and I was starting to get a little worried, that’s one of the reasons I did it.
I think if I didn’t win the money I’d be in the workhouse frankly!
However, despite her Royal connections and uncanny resemblance to the Queen Consort, Judith has been more than humble in her living style.
#OnThisDay 2000: Judith Keppel becomes the first person to win the jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? pic.twitter.com/fWCsOqNWPl
— UK TV On This Day (@UKTVOnThisDay) November 20, 2021
How are they related?
Walter Keppel, the 9th Earl of Albemarle, is the grandfather of Judith Keppel. Her great-grandfather the 8th Earl was George Keppel’s brother and Alice Keppel’s brother-in-law.
Now Alice Keppel was a mistress of King Edward VII – who was a great-granduncle of Camilla. As such, Queen Consort becomes her third cousin and the two look quite similar considering their features and personality.
Source Used
My London: Royal Family: Queen Camilla's famous cousin who is her ‘spitting image’ and won the £1m jackpot on Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
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