King Charles is distantly related to Donald Trump through a “common ancestor”, according to new research. As Charles and Camilla embark on a state visit to the US amid heightened transatlantic tensions between Trump and Sir Keir Starmer over the Iran war, the remarkable revelation could present an opportunity to mend relations.
The US President holds the King in high esteem, describing him to royal author Robert Hardman as a “great guy”. Yet his fondness for the monarch may be set to deepen further, thanks to extraordinary new genealogical findings. Hardman, who recently published Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, has revealed that Charles and Trump “share descent from the same Scottish nobleman”, the 3rd Earl of Lennox, making the pair “15th cousins”.
He wrote in The Mail: “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.
“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 revealed that Lord Lennox was caught up in a “vicious” struggle for power involving control of the then-infant King James V; he would subsequently be defeated at the 1526 Battle of Linlithgow Bridge.
He met a violent end at the hands of a “rival laird” bearing the Game of Thrones-esque title of Bastard of Arran. Lord Lennox was captured and then killed by the laird, though he left behind a son, the 4th Earl of Lennox.
His son later fathered Lord Darnley, husband to Mary, Queen of Scots. It is at this juncture that connections to the House of Windsor start to materialise, as their son later became King James I.
Lennox had other offspring, however. Indeed, he fathered several children, amongst them Lady Helen, who married the 11th Earl of Sutherland. They produced a son, the 12th Earl, who subsequently had a daughter, Lady Jane.
Lady Jane married the chief of the Scottish Highland Clan Mackay; their offspring was Donald Mackay. As this lineage continues through successive generations, spanning both Mackays and MacLeods, we ultimately reach Mary Anne MacLeod.
Finally, in 1930, Mary set off to the US for a new life and would wed real estate tycoon Fred Trump, who, of course, went on to have five children, including the current US President, Donald Trump.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
