A state visit between U.S. President Donald Trump and King Charles III has drawn attention beyond diplomatic formalities after a British newspaper published research suggesting the two leaders are distantly related.
Donald Trump and King Charles are ‘cousins’, claims report
The genealogical analysis, commissioned by The Daily Mail, traces a common ancestor between Donald Trump and King Charles. According to the report, both men descend from the third Earl of Lennox, who was a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland. The shared lineage makes Trump a 15th cousin of King Charles, the newspaper concluded.
The research was conducted by Robert Barrett, a former research editor at the outlet and a genealogist. The report stated that Barrett had “studied multiple land records, church records, and Scottish peerage documents to piece together.”
Donald Trump addressed the findings on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday. “Wow, that’s nice. I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!” he wrote, citing the research. “I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!” The president later described the king as “a fantastic person” and said hosting the royal couple was a real honor. He did not confirm whether the reported family connection was discussed during the visit.
The Scottish link in Trump’s ancestry provides the foundation for the genealogical trail. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in Scotland, so the connection runs through centuries of Scottish peerage records that Barrett examined to establish the familial tie.
However, Donald Trump is not the first American president to discover royal ancestry. In 1988, genealogists declared George H.W. Bush a 13th cousin of Queen Elizabeth II, tracing his family tree to the 1400s. Contemporaneous reporting noted that American presidents were at least six times more likely to have royal blood than the general population that elected them.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
