Trump Cabinet Member Scott Bessent's Unexpected History With King Charles & Camilla

King Charles has met every U.S. president at least once since he was a young lad of 10 and Dwight D. Eisenhower visited his mum (that's the late Queen Elizabeth II to the rest of us). More recently, Charles politely stroked Donald Trump's ego during his September 2025 visit to the U.K., but he might actually have preferred to be chatting up the president's treasury secretary. Odd as it may seem, the king has been quite close to Scott Bessent since 1990, through a rather fortunate family connection. While attending a conference in South Carolina, the then-Prince of Wales stayed at the historic Roper House in Charleston, which was owned by Bessent's cousin Richard Jenrette. He introduced his cousin to the royal, and so began a fast friendship that endures to this day. 

While they might not seem to have much in common on the surface — Charles is 15 years older than Bessent and lives an ocean away from him — the two bonded over their mutual love of architecture. Naturally, when you grow up around palaces or antebellum Southern homes, that's to be expected. More significantly, though, the two men were also living secret lives they were tired of hiding, and each helped the other accept their truth.  

The future king was well into his relationship with future queen, and former mistress, Camilla Parker Bowles, much to the dismay of royal fans still mourning the loss of Princess Diana. Meanwhile, Bessent was in a same-sex relationship at a time when gay couples were expected to stay in the closet. The unlikely friends' willingness to help each other out ultimately changed the way the world saw both of them. 

King Charles and Queen Camilla had a long and complicated relationship before they were finally able to exchange rings. The couple's clandestine affair led to the breakup of his marriage to Princess Diana, and the queen reportedly was so furious, she refused to even acknowledge Camilla. By 1998, they were still staying under the radar out of respect for the late royal, but the secrecy was wearing on them. Though Camilla hadn't yet been formally introduced to Her Majesty, she did meet Charles's friend Scott Bessent and his then-partner Will Trinkle. Camilla invited the two men to lunch at her country home, where they and Charles's deputy private secretary strategized about the best ways to ease her into public consciousness before Camilla officially came out as the prince's new girlfriend. 

They hosted a dinner outing in London for her and her son, and put her up at their Long Island home when she visited New York the following year. By 1999, Charles and Camilla felt comfortable enough to be seen together at her sister's birthday party. The prince similarly showed public support for Bessent's controversial relationship. Trinkle recalled to The Times that, during one event at Buckingham Palace, Charles insisted that he and Bessent go through the receiving line together rather than as singletons. 

"We were told that Scott and I were the first gay couple presented to the Prince of Wales together," Trinkle shared. "Charles always gave us great respect and treated us as equals, and he treated our relationship as equal to anyone else's." Though the treasury secretary went on to marry another man, with whom he now has two children, Bessent has the king to thank for helping him gain acceptance at the risk of his royal reputation.