Buckingham Palace confirms King Charles’s US state visit will go ahead | Royal | News

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the King and Queen will make an official visit to the US in late April. Charles will then go to Bermuda alone. Officials did not disclose the exact date or duration of the visit due to security concerns.

The monarch’s visit to the United States to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence turned into controversy following the Iran war, which is being prosecuted by the United States and Israel. US President Donald Trump He has repeatedly lashed out at British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s lackluster response to the military operation in Iran.

He described Sir Keir as “no Winston Churchill” and recently described British aircraft carriers as “toys” and said “don’t bother” sending aid to the Royal Navy, “we don’t need it”. As a result, the long-planned US state visit comes at a diplomatically sensitive time.

But Trump views the Royal Family with deep respect and personal affection.

The King and Queen’s visit to the US celebrates the historical links and modern bilateral relations between the two countries.

The event schedule has not yet been announced, but it is likely to include all the trappings of a US visit to the White House, including an official banquet with honor guards and speeches.

Charles was also asked to address both houses of the US Congress; this was the first speech by a British monarch in more than 30 years. Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth was the last British monarch to speak in Washington DC during a 12-day state visit as the guest of President George H. W. Bush in 1991.

They are also expected to visit New York, but the Palace has not yet confirmed this.

The visit will be the King’s first state visit to the United States as monarch and his 20th state visit to the country. He had previously visited the United States 19 times as Prince of Wales; This included their first official tour after their wedding in 2005, which included the then-Duchess of Cornwall.

The royal family has hosted four state visits to the United Kingdom by a US President since 1952; these are in 2003, in 2011 and in 2019 and 2025 for the current President, two visits in 2011 and two visits in 2019 and 2025 for the current President.

Charles’ solo visit to Bermuda marks his first visit to the British Overseas Territory since 1970 and the first visit to the island by a reigning King.

The Queen will not be joining him on this separate part of the tour and will return to the UK instead.

Last week the US Ambassador to the UK told a business conference in London that it would be a “huge mistake” for the British Government to abandon plans for the King and Queen to travel to Washington DC next month.

The Royal Family’s trips abroad are carried out on the advice of the British Government. It’s not the King who decides where to go.

When asked about the planned state visit on Thursday, Warren Stephens could not confirm the trip would go ahead but said: “I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him.”

Answering a question about whether it should be canceled in response to controversy over Trump’s war in Iran, the ambassador said, “I think it would be a huge mistake.”