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Even Hollywood stars are claiming royal bloodlines these days. British born actress Thandie Newton has said her Zimbabwean mom is a Shona princess.

The “W” actress isn’t the only celebrity to have professed nobility.

GALLERY: ROYAL BLOOD

The late, great Isaac Hayes of “Shaft” fame became an honorary king in a royal Ghanaian family in 1992.

Hayes built a 8,000 sq. ft. learning and technology center and was actively involved in humanitarian work around the West African nation.

Click here for more of Isaac Hayes

Beyond the blinding lights of tinsel town, black royalty are coming to prominence around the world.

In 2005 Prince Albert II of Monaco quelled an avalanche of tabloid gossip when he admitted siring the two-year-old son of Nicole Coste, a French- Togolese woman who met the prince while working as an airline stewardess.

Prince Albert II’s son, Alexandre Coste, is not the only Black European royal.

Panamanian-born, New York-raised fashion designer Angela Brown made history in 2000 when she wed Prince Maximillian of Liechtenstein, the tiny German speaking monarchy that borders Switzerland.

Known as Europe’s only reigning black princess, Princess Angela has an eight-year-old son with her husband prince.

European royals are not to be outdone by their African counterparts.

Princess Sikhanyiso of Swaziland was no. 20 of Forbes Magazine’s 2008 list of ‘Hottest Young Royals.’

An aspiring actress, the striking 22-year-old is a speech and drama major at Biola College in California.

The eldest daughter of King Mswati III who according to her website often “sings and raps praise and worship” Christian songs is known as an independent thinker.

She has come out against polygamy, a practice her father has controversially embraced.

According to tradition, the Swazi ruler practices polygamy and has wedded 14 women and reportedly has 23 kids.

Now that’s a royal saga for another day…

Want more black royalty? Check this out

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.