On his father's side Johnson is the great-grandson of Ali Kemal. Kemal was a liberal Turkish journalist and interior minister in the government of Damat Ferid Pasha, Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. He was murdered during the Turkish War of Independence. During World War I, Boris's grandfather and great aunt were recognised as British subjects. They took their grandmother's maiden name of Johnson. Johnson has described himself as a "one-man melting pot" because of his cosmopolitan ancestry. His ancestors were Muslims, Jews and Christians if one counts his great-grandparents. His father's maternal (his mother's) grandmother, Marie Louise de Pfeffel, was a descendent of Prince Paul of Württemberg. This was due to the Prince's relationship with a German actress. Johnson is a descendent of King George II of Great Britain through Prince Paul. Johnson is also a descendent of all the previous British royal houses through George's great-great-great grandfather, King James I of England.