As King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in the US for a state visit, new genealogical research has emerged showing that the King and President Trump share a remarkable Scottish ancestry family link
King Charles is currently on a state visit to the US as a guest of Donald Trump(Image: Andrew Harnik, Getty Images)
King Charles and Donald Trump are distantly related through a “common ancestor”, according to new research. As the King and Queen Camilla prepare for a state visit to the US during a period of heightened transatlantic tensions between Trump and Sir Keir Starmer regarding the Iran conflict, this surprising revelation could present an opportunity to strengthen diplomatic relations.
The US President is known to hold the King in considerable esteem, telling royal author Robert Hardman he considers him a “great guy”. However, his admiration for the monarch may be set to deepen following remarkable genealogical findings.
Robert, who recently authored Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, has revealed how Charles and Trump “share descent from the same Scottish nobleman”, the 3rd Earl of Lennox. This connection makes the two men “15th cousins”.
Writing in The Mail, he stated: “We know that the avowedly royalist President Trump already regards the King as ‘a great guy’ and ‘a fighter’ – he told me so himself recently – but his affection for the monarch and the Royal Family may now become even more pronounced when he learns that he and the King share descent from the same Scottish nobleman.
The King and Queen Camilla’s state visit is during a period of heightened tensions between Trump and Sir Keir Starmer(Image: Getty Images)
“Detailed research on behalf of the Daily Mail has shown they have a common ancestor in the form of the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, which means that Donald Trump and Charles III are 15th cousins. Their shared forebear met an unfortunate end, however.”
Robert described how Lord Lennox was caught up in a “vicious” struggle for power over the then-infant King James V, a conflict that would ultimately lead to his downfall at the 1526 Battle of Linlithgow Bridge.
He met a brutal end at the hands of a “rival laird” bearing the Game of Thrones-worthy title of Bastard of Arran.
Taken prisoner and subsequently murdered by the laird, Lord Lennox left behind a son, the 4th Earl of Lennox.
That son later fathered Lord Darnley, husband to Mary, Queen of Scots. It is at this juncture that the connections to the House of Windsor begin to take shape, as their son went on to become King James I.
New research has found that Donald Trump and Charles III are “15th cousins”(Image: Getty Images)
However, Lennox’s lineage didn’t end there. Among his several children was Lady Helen, who married the 11th Earl of Sutherland. The couple had a son, the 12th Earl, who in turn had a daughter, Lady Jane.
Lady Jane wed the chief of the Scottish Highland Clan Mackay, and together they had a son, Donald Mackay.
Tracing this bloodline through successive generations, passing through both the Mackays and MacLeods, we ultimately arrive at Mary Anne MacLeod.
In 1930, Mary emigrated to the United States seeking a fresh start, eventually marrying real estate mogul Fred Trump, who went on to father five children, amongst them the current US President, Donald Trump.
