
Historians believe the Queen is a descendant to the founder of Islam - after tracing her family tree back 43 generations.

The claim makes the British monarch a distant ancestor of the Prophet Muhammad.

The findings were first published in 1986 by Burke's Peerage, a British authority on royal pedigrees.

But the claim has recently resurfaced after a Moroccan newspaper said it had traced the queen's lineage back to the Prophet.

Family tree: According to some historians, the Queen's heritage can be traced back 43 generations to the Prophet Muhammad

According to their findings, Elizabeth II's bloodline runs through the Earl of Cambridge in the 14th century, across medieval Muslim Spain, to Fatima, the Prophet's daughter.

Although disputed by some historians, genealogical records of early-medieval Spain also support the claim and it has also been verified by Ali Gomaa, the former grand mufti of Egypt.

Burke's publishing director wrote to the-then Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher in 1986 calling for increased security for the royal family.

The study from Burke's Peerage first officially suggested the Queen's connection to the Prophet Muhammad

'The royal family's direct descent from the prophet Mohammed cannot be relied upon to protect the royal family forever from Moslem terrorists,' he wrote to Thatcher.

Recognising the connection would be a surprise to many, he added, 'It is little known by the British people that the blood of Mohammed flows in the veins of the queen. However, all Moslem religious leaders are proud of this fact.'

The study from Burke's Peerage first officially suggested the Queen's connection to the Prophet Muhammad.

They claimed the Queen descends from a Muslim princess called Zaida, who fled her home town of Seville in the 11th century before converting to Christianity.

Zaida was the fourth wife of King Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad of Seville. She bore him a son Sancho, whose descendant later married the Earl of Cambridge in the 11th century.

But British magazine the Spectator points out Zaida's origins are 'debatable'. Some historians believe she was the daughter of a wine-drinking caliph descended from the Prophet. Others say she married into his family.

A study came out in 2008 from Burke's Peerage suggesting the Queen's connection to the Prophet Muhammad (pictured above, thousands of Muslims circle the Kaaba inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca)

The reaction to the Queen's reported links to the Prophet have been mixed (pictured above, the Queen greets Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia earlier this year)

The reaction to the Queen's reported links to the Prophet have been mixed.

Abdelhamid Al-Auouni welcomed the news in his piece in Moroccan newspaper Al-Ousboue, writing: 'It builds a bridge between our two religions and kingdoms.'

Meanwhile a tongue-in-cheek headline on the Arab Atheist Network's web forum read: 'Queen Elizabeth must claim her right to rule Muslims.'

One person on internet forum Reddit rubbished the claims however, writing: 'This is just propaganda used by the British monarchy to appease the growing number of Muslim subjects.'

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.