What does a cousin several times removed mean?

Question:

What does a cousin several times removed mean?

I found that Queen Elizabeth is my 12th cousin 2 times removed. We share some of the same great-grandfathers that were king years ago. What does the removed part mean?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: Consider this Lineage

Person A married Person B
- had children Persons C,D, E

Person C had child Person C1

Person E had Child Person E1

E1 has child E2

C1 has child C2
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C, D, E are siblings
E1 and C1 are cousins
The CHildren C2 & E2 are 2nd cousins

How is C2 related to E1? ->2nd cousins, once removed

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For you and the queen, you share a common ancestor (12th great grandparent) 12 generations ago, about 600 years ago. However, the queen is the 10th great grandchild. Therefore you're twice removed