Washington (United States) (AFP) – King Charles III arrives in Washington Monday for a high-stakes state visit aimed at salvaging Britain’s frayed ties with Donald Trump, amid extra-tight security following an attack on a gala dinner attended by the US president. Tensions over the Iran war have rocked the so-called “special relationship” ahead of a trip that was meant to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary of independence from the British monarch’s ancestors.
Charles and Queen Camilla will now be using their four-day visit — their first time on American soil since he became king in 2022 — to mount a diplomatic charm offensive targeting the royalty-obsessed Trump. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday the visit would “honor the long-standing and special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.” Trump and his wife Melania will greet the British royals at the White House on Monday before hosting them for tea and a tour of a new beehive installed by the First Lady. On Tuesday, the Trumps will meet Charles and Camilla in the Oval Office and hold a state dinner. Charles will also become the first British monarch to address Congress since his mother, the late queen Elizabeth II, in 1991. The royals will visit New York on Wednesday, touring the 9/11 memorial, before departing Thursday for Bermuda for his first visit to a British overseas territory as monarch.
Buckingham Palace said the US visit would take place despite the shooting at the annual White House Correspondents Dinner attended by Trump in Washington on Saturday. Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump and other guests were unharmed, the palace added. Christian Turner, Britain’s ambassador to the US, told a briefing in Washington late Sunday that after extensive discussions, “we are all very confident that all appropriate security measures are in place” for the state visit. But as the US leader’s war with Iran drives a rare wedge between London and Washington, the visit has generated considerable controversy. Trump has repeatedly lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his war opposition, alongside his government’s immigration and energy policies. The US president has branded Starmer “no Churchill” — referring to wartime premier Winston Churchill, who coined the phrase the “special relationship.”
The pair, however, spoke by phone Sunday, with Labour leader Starmer extending “his best wishes” following “shocking scenes” at the gala the night before. Starmer has publicly criticized the war but defended the state visit. An early April YouGov poll found 48 percent of Britons support cancelling it.
Trump has said King Charles’s visit could help repair transatlantic relations. “He’s a friend of mine for a long time, so he’s coming, and we’re going to have a great time, and he represents his nation like nobody else can do it,” Trump told Fox News on Sunday. The US visit represents a personal test for Charles, 77, who has been battling cancer in recent years. But the king showcased his diplomatic skills during 79-year-old Trump’s state visit to Britain last September, with Royal Holloway University of London monarchy expert Craig Prescott noting he is “generally very good” at navigating such occasions.
Prescott added that Charles would likely address the war — the “very big elephant in the room” — in a coded way in his speech Tuesday to the US Congress. Meanwhile, the scandal around late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein threatens to encroach on the highly choreographed tour. Charles has faced a major crisis over the friendship his brother, the former prince Andrew, had with the late billionaire, who died in prison in 2019.
© 2024 AFP
