Netflix actor Claire Foy has learned of her ancestors connection with Carlisle in the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?

Claire, who is best known for playing a young Queen Elizabeth II in Netflix's The Crown, and Anne Boleyn in Wolf Hall, appeared in episode two of the 20th series of the popular BBC show first aired last year. 

In the show, she travels to Carlisle to visit Carlisle Castle, where her great-great-grandfather Henry Stimpson served in the barracks as a soldier. 

Claire at the River Eden in GrinsdaleClaire at the River Eden in Grinsdale (Image: BBC)

A chat with historian Dr Peter Donaldson helps her discover more about Henry, who later served in India, with his wife accompanying him in the barracks. 

They would have three children out there, before moving to Carlisle, and having two more kids. 

While undergoing a paperchase, a popular cross-country run in the army, her ancestor sadly died after drowning in the River Eden, alongside two of his fellow soldiers. 

Claire's great-great-grandmother was then sadly forced out of the barracks where she lived, freshly widowed with her five children. 

During the show, Claire then travels to nearby Grinsdale, to stand by the River Eden and be close to the exact spot where her ancestor met his end nearly 140 years ago.