Relationship With James Buchanan
King was close friends with James Buchanan, and the two had shared a house in Washington, D.C. for 15 years during their Congressional tenures. Andrew Jackson referred to King as "Miss Nancy" and "Aunt Fancy", while Aaron V. Brown spoke of the two as "Buchanan and his wife". Some of the contemporary press also speculated about Buchanan and King's relationship. Buchanan and King's nieces destroyed the correspondence of both men. The limited surviving letters express the affection of a special friendship, not uncommon between men of that era. Buchanan wrote of his "communion" with his housemate. After King left for France, in 1844 Buchanan wrote,
"I am now solitary and alone, having no companion in the house with me. I have gone a wooing to several gentlemen, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for man to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old maid who can nurse me when I am sick, provide good dinners for me when I am well, and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection."
Authors including Paul Boller have speculated that Buchanan was "America's first homosexual president", but historians have found no direct evidence that he and King had a romantic or sexual relationship.
Read more about this topic: William R. King
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