The BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? returns for another episode this week, with actress Judi Dench looking into her family history.
During the episode, Dame Judi discovers that she has a family connection to the play Hamlet, in which she made her theatre debut in 1957 as Ophelia. She also learns that the son of her nine times great aunt, Tycho Brahe, was a famous astronomer, and her seven times great grandfather Steen Anderson Bille was unable to inherit his father’s fortune as he was illegitimate. Despite this, Steen rose above the ranks and became a loyal soldier to the king at the time.
So, just who was Tycho Brahe, and what did he do?
And, how did Steen Anderson Bille establish such high military rankings despite his lack of status?
Here’s everything you need to know.
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Who was Tycho Brahe?
Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer, astrologer and alchemist, who was best known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical observations.
Brahe was born in the then-Danish peninsula of Scania, which became part of Sweden the century afterwards. He is the son of Otto Brahe and Beate Bille – who was the sister of Judi Dench’s nine times great grandfather.
Described as “the first competent mind in modern astronomy to feel ardently the passion for exact empirical facts”, most of Brahe’s observations were more accurate than the best available observations at the time.
As an heir to several of Denmark’s principal noble families, he received a comprehensive education.
He took an interest in astronomy and in the creation of more accurate instruments of measurement.
As an astronomer, Brahe created the Tychonic system, which correctly saw the Moon as orbiting Earth, and the planets as orbiting the Sun, but erroneously considered the Sun to be orbiting the Earth.
Who was Steen Anderson Bille?
Steen Andersen Bille was a Danish naval officer. He was born to an aristocrat named Anders Steensen Bille and his “wife” Katarina. At the time, Anders was forbidden from marrying Katarina, as she didn’t come from a noble family. As a result, their children were illegitimate and Steen was unable to inherit his father’s title.
Despite this, he managed to establish high military rankings.
To find out how Steen was able to do this when there was a “glass ceiling” in place for ordinary people, Dench visited the Coppenhagen Citadel, a city centre fortress, where she met with a man named Sebastien.
“Steen Anderson Bille was bright. He studied at the university and sought to make a fortune for himself in Italy, where he entered the service of the military, Grand Dukes of Tuscany. You could say he’d been a Beefeater!” he revealed.
After some years, Steen returned to Denmark with a nice letter of recommendation, however there were still some boundaries in place as to how high he could rise up in the ranks.
It wasn’t until 1958, when a disastrous war with Sweden took place and key members in the military were wiped out, that there was an opportunity for ordinary soldiers like Steen to rise through the ranks.
“A year later, after the Danes repelled the Swedish attack, in 1659, the Danish King Frederick III seized the chance to end his dependence on the nobility once and for all, and Steen Anderson Bille was at the heart of this power grab,” the Who Do You Think You Are? narrator revealed in the episode.
Who Do You Think You Are? airs on Tuesdays at 9pm on BBC One. Find out what else to watch with our TV Guide or visit our dedicated Documentaries hub.