Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch is a distant relation of King Richard III, scientists believe.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who will take part in the Plantagenet monarch's reburial tomorrow, is a second cousin of the king, 16 times removed, experts said.

The link was revealed by Professor Kevin Schurer, who was instrumental in proving the identity of King Richard's remains after they were found under a car park in Leicester.

Speaking on the eve of the interment ceremony at Leicester Cathedral, he said: "Benedict is Richard III's second cousin, 16 removed.

"He is linked in several ways, but in terms of number of generations, the shortest is via Richard's mother, Cecily Neville's grandmother Joan Beaufort.

"He also has more indirect links to both Queen Elizabeth II and Lady Jane Grey through other ancestors in his tree.

"It is great that Benedict has the opportunity to take part in Thursday's ceremony for his distant relative.

"Having him there will add another dimension to what has already been a momentous week for the University of Leicester as well as the city and county."

It has been estimated that between one million and 17 million people in the UK are related in some way to the last reigning Plantagenet, although not as closely as Benedict.

Cumberbatch, who is to star in a forthcoming BBC television series about the monarch, will read a specially written poem as the king's coffin is lowered into a specially made tomb of Swaledale stone.

University of Leicester geneticist Dr Turi King, who conducted DNA analysis on the bones of Richard III, said: "We are all related to Richard III in some way, it is simply a matter of knowing the genealogy to understand to what degree.

"This discovery of Benedict's link to Richard is very timely as he is playing Richard III and it is great for the city that he is able to come to the reinterment service."

The Imitation Game star will play his distant relative in the upcoming BBC series The Hollow Crown: The Wars Of The Roses, based on William Shakespeare's imagining of Richard III.

Prof Schurer and Dr King previously worked on the lineage of two other distant relatives of the king, Michael Ibsen and Wendy Duldig.

It was their maternal-line DNA which was used to confirm the identity of the mortal remains. The analysis showed that they are both second cousins to Benedict Cumberbatch, 17 times and 19 times removed, respectively.