Buchanan Had A Close Relationship With William Rufus King

After Anne Coleman's passing, Buchanan became a lifelong bachelor, sparking attention and rumors. James W. Loewen, Robert P. Watson, and Shelley Ross are only a few authors who have speculated that he was homosexual. Though it was widely rumored, Buchanan actually had a close relationship with William Rufus King. King was a politician from Alabama who briefly acted as Franklin Pierce's vice president. From 1834 through 1844, Buchanan and King shared a boardinghouse in Washington and went to social events together. Even though King once referred to the situation as a “communion” such a living arrangement was typical at the time.

According to Loewen, Buchanan acknowledged in a letter that he might marry a woman who could accept his “lack of emotional or romantic affection” in his later years. There was something sick about the president's attitude, Catherine Thompson, the wife of cabinet member Jacob Thompson, subsequently remarked.