Two and a half centuries after the American colonies declared independence from Britain under King George III, his descendant King Charles III arrived on the White House on Monday with trans-Atlantic ties under strain and security within the highlight.
A shooting at a Washington dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday sparked a last-minute security review of the four-day state visit, intended to have fun the US’ 250th anniversary, and the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship.”
Buckingham Palace said the king “is greatly relieved to listen to that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Charles and Queen Camilla on the White House South Portico. The couples were to talk over tea within the Green Room before they go outside to see a brand new beehive in the form of the White House that the first lady had installed last week.
Charles and Camilla each support beekeeping. He keeps a minimum of three beehives at his private residence in England as a part of his support for the environment and sustainability.
Trump praises the king but derides Starmer
A rift between the U.K. government and Trump over issues including the Iran war had already raised the political stakes for the British monarch’s visit.
In recent weeks, Trump has lambasted Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his unwillingness to affix U.S. military attacks on Iran, dismissing Britain’s leader as “not Winston Churchill,” the World War II prime minister who coined the phrase “special relationship” for the U.K.-U.S. bond.
It’s a part of a wider rift between Trump and the US’ NATO allies, whom he has called “cowards” and “useless” for not joining motion against Iran. A leaked Pentagon email suggested the U.S. could reassess support for the U.K.’s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands within the south Atlantic. Britain and Argentina fought a 1982 war over the islands, also often known as the Islas Malvinas.
The president insists the political chill won’t affect the royal visit. Charles “has nothing to do with that,” Trump said in March, meaning NATO.
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The president has spoken in glowing terms about Charles, repeatedly referring to the monarch as his “friend” and a “great guy.”
He also continues to say his “amazing” trip to the U.K. in September with first lady Melania Trump for an unprecedented second state visit. Starmer hand-delivered the invitation from the king within the Oval Office five weeks after Trump returned to office, in a really public try and woo the Republican president.
The U.K. royal family laid on pomp and pageantry for the Trumps, with scarlet-clad guardsmen, brass bands and a luxurious banquet at Windsor Castle.
“President Trump has all the time had great respect for King Charles, and their relationship was further strengthened by the president’s historic visit to the UK last 12 months,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Associated Press. “The president looks forward to a special visit by Their Majesties, which is able to include a lovely state dinner and multiple events throughout the week.”
Trump, meanwhile, told the BBC that the king’s visit could “absolutely” help repair the trans-Atlantic relationship.
“He’s improbable. He’s a improbable man. Absolutely the reply is yes,” the president said.
Some have called for the trip to be canceled
Kristofer Allerfeldt, a University of Exeter professor specializing in American history, said the 2 governments have very different objectives for the trip.
He said that for Charles, the trip is about “reinforcing long-term ties, showcasing the monarchy’s soft power and reminding the world that Britain still carries diplomatic weight.”
For Trump, it’s more about “a media event,” with emphasis on the optics of a visit that resembles a gathering of “two gilded monarchs.”
Some U.K. politicians worry that the trip is fraught with opportunities for embarrassment. Trump’s recent broadsides at Pope Leo XIV have heightened those concerns.
Ed Davey, leader of the U.K. centrist opposition Liberal Democrats party, earlier this month called Trump “a dangerous and corrupt gangster” and implored the federal government to cancel the trip.
“I actually fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to face by his side,” Davey said within the House of Commons. “We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”
Starmer defended the visit, saying “the monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is commonly capable of reach through the a long time” and bolster necessary relationships.
Andrew and Epstein solid a shadow
Raising the stakes is the shadow of the king’s younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has been stripped of his royal title of Prince Andrew, exiled from public life and put under police investigation over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He has denied committing any crimes.
Epstein victims have urged the king to fulfill with them and other sexual abuse survivors. It’s unlikely he’ll accomplish that.
Charles has visited the U.S. 19 times, but that is his first state visit to the country since becoming king in 2022. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made 4 state visits to the U.S.
The king, who’s 77 and was diagnosed in early 2024 with an undisclosed type of cancer, will spend 4 days within the U.S. accompanied by Queen Camilla.
In Washington, the king and queen can have a non-public tea with the Trumps and attend a garden party and a proper White House state dinner. The president and the king can even have a one-on-one meeting.
The royal couple can even visit the Sept. 11 memorial in Recent York and attend a 250th birthday block party in Virginia, where Charles can even meet Indigenous leaders involved in nature conservation — a favourite reason for the environmentalist king.
Three centuries after Britain’s kings and queens gave up any real political power, the royals remain symbols of sentimental power, deployed by elected governments to smooth international relationships and send messages about what the U.K. considers necessary.
A key moment will probably be the king’s speech to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday. It’s only the second time, after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, that a U.K. monarch has addressed a joint meeting of each houses.
Elizabeth praised liberalism on that trip, spoke against the concept “power grows from the barrel of a gun” and praised the “wealthy ethnic and cultural diversity of each our societies.”
The king’s treasured causes, including the environment and harmony amongst religious faiths, are in contrast to Trump’s. He’s unlikely to intensify differences, but Allerfeldt said that, within the monarch’s subtle way, the king could use his speech to send a message.
“He does have an unorthodox way of taking a look at the world, and I feel possibly he can even have something valid to say when he addresses Congress,” Allerfeldt said.