David Dimbleby labels King Charles’ US visit ‘an embarrassment’, urging ministers to call it off
Veteran broadcaster David Dimbleby described the King and Queen’s visit to US President Donald Trump as a “serious embarrassment” and said the government should postpone the visit.
Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday that the royal couple will attend a state dinner at the White House and that the King will address Congress during a visit next month.
Mr Trump’s critics in the UK have opposed the planned visit for weeks, and more than 140,000 people have signed a petition calling for the trip to be canceled after Mr Trump’s repeated verbal attacks on Britain, NATO and European countries that have not joined the US in its war against Iran.
Mr Dimbleby, who previously said that he was disturbed by the respect for the monarchy, had prepared a television series called Mr. Dimbleby. What Is Monarchy For?He said that the visit was not a good idea and that it was a great shame to accept the invitation.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4, the King was at the mercy of the government AFTERNOON. “The government says go, so he goes.”
He said: “I feel sorry for him to go and have to sit down to a state dinner with a man who, you know, insulted British troops in Afghanistan and said they weren’t particularly important and not necessary, insulted – I’m not talking about insulting the government – but insulted our Royal Navy.”
Citing former BBC’s Mr Trump Question Time The presenter added: “You know, [he] “He goes out of his way to be mean about Britain and NATO and who is narcissistic and a bully, and the way to stand up to bullies is to not put up with it – but that doesn’t seem to be the government’s view.”
He said: “I was hoping that with what was going on in Iran, they would find a way to avoid the pillar by postponing the visit and say ‘maybe this is not a good time to go’.”
David Dimbleby’s brother, Jonathan Dimbleby, is a long-time friend and confidant of the King.
Just minutes before Buckingham Palace announced the royal visit, Mr Trump launched a scathing tirade against Britain over the war against Iran, warning that “the US will no longer be there to help you, just as you are not there for us”.
He wrote in Truth Social that Britain should “pluck up some overdue courage” and go buy the oil itself now that the US has “done the hard part”.
The visit, which will mark the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, will “celebrate the historic ties” between Britain and the United States, officials said.
This is when President George W. Bush stood on the White House lawn with Queen Elizabeth II after making one of his famous blunders. It will be the first state visit by a British monarch to the United States in nearly 20 years, since Elizabeth winked at him in 2007.
Britain rolled out the red carpet for Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK last September; it was a glittering affair, featuring a sumptuous banquet served on 200-year-old silver.
The president’s rants strained US-UK relations. Mr Trump described Britain’s approach to the conflict as “appalling” and repeatedly attacked Sir Keir Starmer, even describing him as “no Winston Churchill”.
In January, the US leader sparked outrage among British politicians and senior combatants by claiming NATO troops were avoiding the front lines of the war in Afghanistan.
Mr. Trump suggested NATO-allied troops were “staying away from the front lines a little bit.”
Last week, Mr Trump compared UK aircraft carriers to toys and told Sir Keir Starmer not to bother sending ships to the Gulf.
“We don’t need this, we don’t need that and we don’t need them. These are toys compared to what we have,” he said.
And US defense secretary Pete Hegseth mocked the Royal Navy.
“There are countries all over the world that need to be ready to step into this critical waterway,” he said, referring to the Strait of Hormuz.
“Last I checked, there also had to be a big, bad Royal Navy ready to do such things.”
