King Charles and Donald Trump families traced revealing they are cousins

Ben McCaffrey
Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:24:33 +0000

A remarkable revelation has emerged as King Charles III and Queen Camilla embark on their historic State Visit to the US this week.

Research conducted on behalf of the Daily Mail has established that President Trump and the British monarch could actually be 15th cousins, sharing a common ancestor in the third Earl of Lennox.

This Scottish nobleman was a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland, placing both the President and the King within the same aristocratic bloodline.

The lineage traces through Lord Lennox's daughter, Lady Helen, who married the 11th Earl of Sutherland.

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Their son, the 12th Earl, fathered Lady Jane, who subsequently married into the Clan Mackay.

From this came Donald Mackay, later created 1st Lord Reay, a devoted supporter of King Charles I during the English Civil War.

The ancestral line then passed through successive generations of Mackays before continuing through the MacLeod family.

This Scottish heritage ultimately led to Mary Anne MacLeod of Lewis, who emigrated to America in 1930 and married property developer Fred Trump. Their fourth child, Donald, was born in 1946.

Yet the President's newly discovered royal ancestry presents a rather amusing complication.

His lineage now connects him directly to George III, the very monarch whose rule the American colonies themselves rejected in 1776.

This creates a remarkable irony as the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence this year, the subject of the King's State Visit.

The President and the First Lady welcomed the royal couple to the White House on Monday, with the formal ceremonial reception scheduled for today.

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The President has long expressed admiration for the Royal Family, with his mother having been "a big fan" of Queen Elizabeth II.

After his initial 2018 meeting with the late monarch, President Trump called the Queen "an incredible lady," adding: "I feel I know her so well and she certainly knows me very well right now".

His fondness extends equally to the current sovereign.

Speaking on the King ahead of the visit last week, President Trump said: "I know him well, I've known him for years. He's a brave man, and he's a great man. They would absolutely be a positive."

His admiration for King Charles was demonstrated further when meeting the monarch on the White House South Lawn yesterday, where he broke royal protocol by initiating physical contact.

Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail that the move demonstrated a "gesture of active, 'special' friendship".

The King is set to address a joint meeting of Congress today, where he will speak of the "reconciliation and renewal" that characterises the long history between Britain and America.

He will become only the second British monarch to address a joint meeting, following Queen Elizabeth II’s speech in 1991.