NEED TO KNOW
President Donald Trump welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla to the White House and spoke to the crowd about his respect for the monarchy
Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born in Scotland and “loved the royal family,” the president said
The president also said that his mother “had a crush” on the future King, earning a laugh from the royals
When President Donald Trump welcomed King Charles to the White House, he revealed that reverence for the monarchy is part of his family history.
Addressing gathered guests and media during a formal welcome ceremony on the South Lawn on Tuesday, April 28, Trump, 79, previewed the King’s historic address to Congress, happening later in the day.
“If John Adams or George Washington or the King’s fifth-great-grandfather could see that sight, they might be absolutely shocked, but probably only for a moment,” he said. “Surely they would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship.”
With British ancestry of his own, the president said he was raised with a respect for the crown. His mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born in the village of Tong on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland, in 1912, during the reign of King Charles’s great-grandfather, King George V.
“My mother, I can see it so clearly, I told the King this, she loved the royal family,” Trump said. “And she loved the Queen. Anytime the Queen was involved with a ceremony or anything, my mother would be glued to the television.”
“I also remember her saying, very clearly, ‘Charles, look, young Charles. He’s so cute,’ ” Trump added as he turned to look at the monarch, who laughed at the comment. “My mother had a crush on Charles, can you believe it? I wonder what she’s thinking right now.”
President Donald Trump speaks as King Charles looks on during an arrival ceremony at the White House on April 28, 2026
Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty
Trump’s speech came just a few hours after the Daily Mail published a report claiming that the U.S. president and the British monarch share a common ancestor and are actually 15th cousins. The outlet’s family tree links both King Charles, 77, and Trump back to Scottish nobleman John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Lennox, who lived from 1490 to 1526 and was the great-grandson of King James II of Scotland.
Stewart’s bloodline through his daughter Lady Helen Stewart evolves through surnames Gordon, Mackay, Munro, Mackay again, and eventually, MacLeod, Trump’s mother’s maiden name
Trump expressed his excitement on Truth Social, posting a snapshot of the article and writing, “Wow, that’s nice. I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!! I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”
Trump isn’t the first president to share his familial affection for King Charles. The monarch has previously revealed that, during a state visit in 1970, President Richard Nixon tried to play matchmaker between the future King and his daughter, Tricia.
He brought up the anecdote during the Trumps’ state visit to the U.K. last September. While speaking at the banquet held on the president’s behalf, the King shared his affinity for the United States and the admiration he’d received in return.
“For my part, I have always admired the ingenuity of the American people, and the principles of freedom which your great democracy has represented since its inception,” the King said. “Throughout my life, from my very first visit to the United States in 1970 and over 20 visits since that time, I have cherished the close ties between the British and American peoples.”
He added, “In fact, had the media succeeded in the 1970s in their own attempt at deepening the special relationship, I myself might have been married off within the Nixon family!”
President Nixon welcomes Prince Charles and Princess Anne to the White House in 1970
Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty
Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!
Biographer Sally Bedell Smith later wrote that, while visiting with President George W. Bush and his wife, first lady Laura Bush, at the White House in the early 2000s, then-Prince Charles “joked that the Bushes had better not try to fix up their twin daughters with his sons William and Harry the way Nixon had worked to set him up with Tricia.”
Read the original article on People