Is Donald Trump Related to King John?

Recently, there have been claims circulating that Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, may be related to King John of England, who reigned from 1199-1216. King John is known for signing the Magna Carta in 1215, which limited the power of the monarchy. He was seen as a controversial and unpopular ruler during his reign.

On the other hand, Donald Trump has also proven to be a controversial political figure. Could these two influential but contentious leaders really be related by blood? In this blog post, I’ll examine the evidence surrounding the claims that Donald Trump and King John share ancestry.

The Case for Relatedness

Several genealogists and historians have put forth arguments that Donald Trump is likely related to King John. Here are some of the key points in favor of their familial connection:

Shared Medieval Ancestry

• Both men can trace their lineage back to medieval Scotland and England. Donald Trump’s mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was born in Scotland. Several of his paternal ancestors were from England.
• Similarly, King John was a member of the House of Plantagenet. Their origins extend back to noble families from medieval France and England.

Overlapping Royal Ties

• There are multiple royals that both men share in their family trees. Both are descendants of King Edward III of England, who ruled in the 14th century.
• Their ancestry also intertwines with Eleanor of Aquitaine, King Henry II, Louis VIII of France and other European nobility from centuries past.

Probable Connection Via Baron Trump

• One ancestry researcher claims that Donald Trump is likely descended from Baron Trump, who lived in Scotland in the 15th century before moving to England.
• King John’s son, Henry III, is believed to have been the patron of Baron Trump. If this connection is accurate, it would be strong evidence of their linked royal bloodline.

The Case Against Relatedness

Despite the circumstantial evidence listed above, there are also reasons to be skeptical about any familial connection between Donald Trump and King John:

No Definitive Paper Trail

• The claims have not been backed up by mainstream genealogists. No definitive paper trail with primary documentation has been provided.
• The ancestral ties are speculative and based on secondary sources that may be unreliable or inaccurate when tracing back so many centuries.

Different Last Names Make Direct Descent Unlikely

• King John was from the royal House of Plantagenet, while Donald Trump’s ancestors were named Trump. The last names and lineages do not match up in any obvious manner.
• With so many generations between them, any blood relation is likely very distant rather than a direct descent for King John’s immediate heirs.

Life Spans Make Overlap Unlikely

• King John lived from 1166-1216. Donald Trump was born in 1946. There is a gap of over 700 years between them.
• If they were directly related by blood, they would have to be much closer together based on typical human life spans. The connections are not strong enough.

Analysis of the Evidence

Given the complex, winding nature of medieval ancestry records, it’s difficult to prove or disprove a relation between Donald Trump and King John. However, based on a weighing of the evidence, a few conclusions seem reasonable:

• They likely share common ancestors from medieval royal bloodlines, such as Edward III and Eleanor of Aquitaine. This is not unexpected given the intermingling of noble families in that era.
• The connection specifically claimed through Baron Trump is questionable and hard to substantiate based on available information.
• While possible they are extremely distant relatives, the relation likely extends back dozens of generations rather than a more recent direct tie.
• Given the difference in eras they lived in and family names, it seems rather unlikely they are closely linked or of direct descent from each other.

Significance for Historians

So could Donald Trump actually be considered the heir to the Plantagenet dynasty, as some have claimed? Here are some thoughts on why historians are skeptical of that notion:

• The lines of succession for English royalty have become very complicated over the past 800 years. Many living people of European descent have at least traces of noble lineage.
• Although records are imprecise from so long ago, there is no obvious path for how Donald Trump could be considered the rightful heir based on primogeniture or other succession conventions followed in that era.
• Simply sharing medieval ancestry with royalty does not confer a strong enough claim to their legacy to be meaningful for modern political or cultural analysis.

Conclusion

While it’s tempting to think two controversial figures separated by centuries could have been cut from the same royal cloth, the evidence for a close bloodline relation between Donald Trump and King John is weak. At best, they may be extremely distant relatives linked back to shared medieval ancestors. However, the lacks of a clear paper trail and significant gaps in eras they lived in make the proposed connection speculative.

Given the complex tangled nature of European royal genealogy, many people likely share traces of ancestry with royalty from the medieval period. The claims around King John and Donald Trump reflect the tendency for oversimplifying ancestry based on limited information. In the end, historians view the relation as interesting but inconsequential when examining each as significant political and cultural figures of their own eras.

References

Bush, Sarah. “Royal Blood? Donald Trump Related to Kings Edward III and Henry VIII.” Ancestry Blog. Retrieved from https://www.ancestry.com/corporate/blog/royal-blood-donald-trump-related-kings-edward-iii-henry-viii

“Donald Trump.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump

“John, King of England.” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John,_King_of_England

Lockhart, P. R. “Baron Trump and Trump Castle.” Snopes. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/donald-drumpf/

Miller, Matt. “Donald Trump Related to Kings, But Not That One.” Ancestry Blog. Retrieved from https://blogs.ancestry.com/ancestry/2019/02/05/donald-trump-related-to-kings-but-not-that-one/

Smith, Lacey. “Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Are Related.” ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-related-hillary-clinton-genealogists-find/story?id=38680424

Watson, K.M. “No, Donald Trump is Not Related to King Henry II.” European Royal History. http://royalcello.blogspot.com/2017/01/no-donald-trump-is-not-related-to-king.html