The paternity of Ludwig Van Beethoven sparked intrigue in his lifetime, with some publications even claiming he was the illegitimate son of the King of Prussia. Now, a team of international scientists, including the University of Cambridge, has sequenced the genome of the German composer and discovered there really was a break in his paternal line. The new study suggests an “extra-marital” event occurred between the conception of Hendrik van Beethoven in Kampenhout, Belgium around 1572, and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later in 1770, in Bonn, Germany. However, experts say it is impossible to tell in which generation the break occurred.

Beethoven only denied the rumours at the end of his life after a childhood friend, Franz Wegeler, sent a letter chastising him for failing to defend the honour of his mother. The composer replied saying: “Make known to the world the integrity of my parents,

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