King Charles US visit schedule: When will he meet 9/11 survivors and what is Camilla doing today?
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 Monday afternoon at Joint Base Andrews air base in Maryland, a short distance from Washington.
The historic state visit represents the King’s first official visit to the United States as a monarch and heralds the start of celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of America’s independence. The state visit will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of September 11.
Reflecting on America’s independence as part of his historic speech to Congress on Tuesday, Charles emphasized that the two countries always found a way to come together, even if they did not always see eye to eye.
“Keeping in mind the spirit of 1776, we can perhaps agree that we did not always agree, at least at first,” he said, adding: “What a change will occur when we find this way of agreeing, not only for the benefit of our peoples, but for all peoples.”
“I believe this is the special component of our relationship.”
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 shooting, which occurred days before a highly anticipated state visit, at a White House reporters’ dinner, raised questions about whether the King would go ahead with his planned trip after Trump and other cabinet officials were whisked away from the black-tie gala to safety. Buckingham Palace confirmed on Sunday that the official visit would go ahead as planned.
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.”
Here’s what we know about the plans for the King and Queen in the United States.
Wednesday
Charles and Camilla will travel to New York on the third day of their state visit, where they will visit the September 11 memorial at around 1pm local time (18:00 BST) as the 25th anniversary of the September 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 treasury collection at 2pm local time (19:00 BST), 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.
The Queen will head to the famous library while the King will attend a community event in Harlem before attending a UK-US trade and business event at 3.25pm local time (20.25 BST).
Charles and Camilla will reunite at around 5.15pm local time (22.15 BST) to attend the UK-US cultural reception.
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 so far?
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.
The second day of the state visit began with a state arrival ceremony on the south lawn of the White House at 10.35am local time (15.35 BST); here the King inspected the troops together with the president. Trump gave a speech in honor of Charles, saying: “In the centuries since our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British.”
He went on to mention his own mother, Scottish-born Mary Macleod Trump, who was “in love” with the King when she was younger.
“He really loved the family, but I also remember him saying very clearly, ‘Charles, look at young Charles, he’s so sweet,'” Trump said. “My mother was in love with Charles; can you believe it?”
The King and Queen signed the White House guest book at around 11.10 local time and exchanged gifts with the president and the First Lady. Trump and the King had a bilateral meeting shortly afterwards.
Later that day, Charles gave a speech to both houses of Congress emphasizing the “interconnected” destinies of the United Kingdom and the United States, to a standing ovation.
That evening, Mr. and Mrs. Trump greeted the royals again for a tour and review of documents before the state dinner in the East Room.
Trump was presented with a mirror-polished World War II-era submarine bell that was part of a British submarine that spent more than 20 years in Australia, where the Royal Navy maintains a permanent presence. The boat’s name was HMS Trump.
