King Charles full schedule today for US state visit after White House dinner with Trump and Congress speech
King III. Charles and Camilla are on the third day of their historic state visit to the US, which many hope will repair a weakened “special relationship”.
The royal family touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, a short distance from Washington, on Monday afternoon Eastern Time.
The historic trip, the King’s first visit to the US as a monarch and the first state visit by any British monarch since 2007, will mark the 250th anniversary of America’s independence.
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday that the state visit would go ahead as planned following the shooting at a White House correspondents’ dinner. Shortly after 8:30 pm on Saturday night, gunshots rang out at a black tie gala at the Washington Hilton; Mr. Trump and other cabinet officials were taken to a safe location while the guests hid.
Authorities said in a statement afterward that the suspect shot and wounded a law enforcement officer before being taken into custody near the hotel screening area.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic throughout the day, and acting on government advice, we can confirm that Her Majesty’s state visit will proceed as planned.
“The King and Queen are grateful to everyone who has worked quickly to ensure this remains the case and look forward to the visit starting tomorrow.”
British Ambassador to the United States Christian Turner confirmed in a statement on Sunday that he was “extremely confident that Her Majesty will have the best security throughout the visit.”
Hopes remain that the royal family’s diplomatic soft power will go a long way to improving relations between the US and the UK after the president branded Britain’s approach to the Iran war “horrible” and repeatedly attacked Sir Keir Starmer – at one point describing him as “no Winston Churchill”.
The state visit marks a number of important milestones. Not only will this be the King’s first official visit to the United States as monarch, it will also herald the beginning of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The state visit will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11.
Here’s what we know about the plans for the King and Queen in the United States.
Tuesday
The King and Queen will spend another day in DC for traditional state visit events. The President and First Lady are expected to start the day with a state-of-state ceremony on the south lawn of the White House at 10.35am local time (15.35 BST).
The formal salute includes a traditional military arrival ceremony with both national anthems played by the U.S. Marine Band before the Presidential Salute Battery fires 72mm howitzer rounds for a 21-gun salute. According to tradition, the couples would then supervise the military escort and inspect the corps.
Both heads of state are then expected to join a reception line with official delegations, after which the King and Queen will sign the White House visitors’ book and exchange gifts with the president and first lady at around 11.10am local time.
Shortly afterwards, at 11.40am local time, the King will attend a bilateral meeting with Mr Trump in the Oval Office. Charles is also expected to address both houses of Congress on his second day.
That evening, Mr. and Mrs. Trump will greet the royal family again for a tour and review of documents at 7pm local time, and will be in another receiving line before the state dinner in the East Room.
Wednesday
Charles and Camilla will head to New York on the third day of their official visit, where they will visit the 9/11 memorial as the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches. During their visit, they will also meet with first responders and families of those who lost their lives that day.
As part of a visit to the New York Public Library’s permanent treasure collection, the Queen will give the library a specially made toy of the Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to complete a set of beloved characters from one of the institution’s collections.
The library is home to teddy bears that belonged to Christopher Robin, son of Winnie-the-Pooh creator AA Milne, and are believed to have inspired the stories first published in 1926. While Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga and Eeyore are on display, the original baby kangaroo toy, Roo, was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.
The Roo toy was specially made for the visit of Merrythinking, traditional British teddy bear manufacturers who produced the original toys.
Thursday
The royal family will bid farewell to the president and first lady on Thursday before heading south to Virginia for a series of community events. According to US media, Charles and Camilla will reportedly attend a party celebrating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence, as well as meet with members of indigenous communities to discuss climate change projects.
The King will visit Bermuda following the official visit of the United States.
What happened on Monday?
Charles and Camilla were greeted by Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the south portico of the White House at around 4.15pm local time (21.00 BST). The heads of state gathered for a private afternoon tea in the Green Room on the state floor.
The King and Queen visited the beehives on the South Lawn near the kitchen garden of the historic building. This comes a week after the first lady announced that the White House was expanding its long-running honey-making program, including a new beehive in the form of the president’s official residence.
At an outdoor party held in the gardens of the official residence of British Ambassador to the US Sir Christian Turner, Camilla chatted to charity bosses working to combat child abuse and sexual exploitation.
The King ended the first day of the highly anticipated visit by chatting with former Olympic diving champion Tom Daley about their shared love of knitting.
