English Royal Ancestors of Presidents of the United States

Research using the U.S. Presidents project on WikiTree suggests that a striking share of American presidents descend from the kings of England, making presidential genealogy an unexpected gateway into British family history.

There have to date been 45 U.S. presidents, with two men having been elected again after losing an earlier election: Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president, and Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th.

A remarkably high percentage, 27 in total or 60 per cent, are descended from kings of England. The source for this figure is research undertaken using the U.S. Presidents project on WikiTree.com.

Thirteen presidents are descended from King Edward III, 25 from King Edward I, one is descended only from Henry III, and another from King John. Looked at another way, the presidency may be republican in office, but its family history often reaches deep into medieval England.

Quick Facts

At a glance

27 of 45 presidents are linked to English royal descent
Edward I appears in 25 presidential pedigrees
Franklin Delano Roosevelt leads the rankings

KEY FINDINGS

Royal descent appears often

Presidents with English royal ancestry

Presidents descended from Edward I

Presidents descended from Edward III

RANKED FIRST

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Roosevelt leads the table with 55 descents from Edward I and 17 from Edward III.

RANKED SECOND

George W. Bush

Bush follows closely behind with 53 descents from Edward I and 9 from Edward III.

Top Names

Highest-ranking presidents

Franklin Delano Roosevelt
George W. Bush
Theodore Roosevelt
George H. W. Bush

A league table of blue-bloodedness can be constructed from the number of separate lines of descent from these monarchs. The clear leader is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd president, with 55 lines of descent from Edward I and 17 from Edward III.

Not far behind is George W. Bush, 43rd president, with 53 descents from Edward I and nine from Edward III. His mother, Barbara Pierce, more than doubled the royal inheritance that his father, George H. W. Bush, had received, although the 41st president still remains comfortably within the top four.

The proportion of presidents with English royal ancestry rises from 50 per cent in the first ten to 70 per cent among the most recent ten.

DISCOVER

Interested in your own ancestry?

What begins as an interesting historical fact can lead much further—into your own family story.

At the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, you can learn how to trace those same British Isles connections with accuracy and confidence. Explore accredited courses designed to turn curiosity into real expertise.

BROWSE OUR COURSES

League table of presidential royal ancestry

The table below ranks presidents by the number of separate descents traced from Edward I and Edward III. It highlights just how heavily a few presidential family trees are connected to England's medieval crown.

Rank	President	Presidential number	Edward I lines	Edward III lines
1	Franklin Delano Roosevelt	32	55	17
2	George W. Bush	43	53	9
3	Theodore Roosevelt	26	24	10
4	George H. W. Bush	41	25	4
5	Harry S. Truman	33	19	7
6	Herbert Hoover	31	13	2
7	George Washington	1	12	3
8	Woodrow Wilson	28	11	4
9	William Howard Taft	27	9	2
10	John FitzGerald Kennedy	35	8	4
11	Thomas Jefferson	3	8	1
12	Calvin Coolidge	30	7	1
13	Grover Cleveland	22/24	7	0
14	John Quincy Adams	6	6	0
14	Zachary Taylor	12	6	0
14	Jimmy Carter	39	6	0
17	James Madison	4	5	0
17	Benjamin Harrison	23	5	0
19	Richard Nixon	37	3	1
20	William Henry Harrison	9	3	0
21	James Buchanan	15	2	0
22	Rutherford Hayes	19	1	0
22	Lyndon Johnson	36	1	0
22	William Clinton	42	1	0
22	Barack Obama	44	1	0
26	Gerald Ford	38	Henry III only	-
27	Franklin Pierce	14	King John only	-

Why these figures matter to family historians

These figures should encourage Americans to seek out their own royal antecedents, but they also point to a larger truth. The descendants of medieval kings spread widely through later gentry and professional families, eventually into emigrant lines that reached North America.

The proportion of presidents with English royal ancestry appears to rise over time: 50 per cent in the first ten presidents, 40 per cent in the second ten, 70 per cent in the next ten, 80 per cent in the next ten, and 70 per cent among the most recent ten.

What begins as a surprising presidential statistic quickly becomes a useful lesson in how British and American family history intersect across centuries.

Research note and WikiTree recognition

IHGS supports the free resource provided by WikiTree.com, particularly its ability to show the degree of kinship between two people. Family historians should remember that the quality of information there can vary, and no genealogist should add an individual to a personal lineage without being fully satisfied with the sources.

In 2024, the Trustees of IHGS awarded Chris Whitten and WikiTree.com the prestigious Bickersteth Medal for services to genealogy.

Bickersteth Medal Award

Picture of Dr Paul Fox, Chairman of IHGS, presenting the Bickersteth Medal to Chris Whitten at the 36th International Congress of Genealogical and Heraldic Sciences in Boston, MA on 27th September 2024

Fascinated by the royal roots of U.S. Presidents?

What begins as an interesting historical fact can lead much further—into your own family story.

At the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies, you can learn how to trace those same British Isles connections with accuracy and confidence. From Bitesize Courses to a Higher Certificate in Genealogy - explore accredited courses designed to turn curiosity into real expertise.

Continue Your Education With IHGS