King Charles and Prince William set to visit the US in 2026 to woo Donald Trump amid trade talks – impinging on Harry and Meghan’s territory

The King and the Prince of Wales are ‘very likely’ to travel to the US on separate trips next year as part of a ‘charm offensive’ against Donald Trump.

The visits are timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence and coincide with negotiations on a trade agreement between the two countries.

King Charles is expected to travel in April for what will be the first trip to the US by a ruling monarch since Queen Elizabeth hosted George Bush in 2007.

Prince William will then travel to North America during the World Cup in Mexico and Canada next summer.

The King’s trip will be his son Prince Harry’s first visit to the United States since he left royal duties and moved to Montecito, California, with Meghan Markle.

Prince William traveled to New York City in 2023 to attend the Earthshot Prize summit, but stayed away from his brother, who will reportedly be ‘icy’ from upcoming visits.

British diplomats hope next year’s visits will speed up the completion of the trade deal after talks on Keir Starmer’s vaunted ‘technology prosperity’ deal stalled this month.

The £31bn deal, seen as a major victory when announced during Trump’s state visit in September, has been delayed due to the US president’s frustration with Britain hitting American tech companies with a ‘digital services tax’ and refusing to ease food safety rules on imports.

The visit comes just months after Donald Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ second state visit to the UK in September.

Prince William is also likely to take a separate trip to the US during the World Cup next summer

Negotiations on completing a full trade deal have also slowed due to American demands for greater access to British markets for American farmers.

Completing the deal early in the year is seen as important before Trump begins campaigning for the US midterm elections in November.

Downing Street hopes the royal trips, coming just months after Trump’s ‘unprecedented’ second UK state visit, could provide an incentive for Trump to keep the special relationship alive.

Starmer is unlikely to attend alongside the King, with foreign secretary Yvette Cooper likely to represent the Government.

Discussions about trips are at an ‘advanced’ stage and the King is ‘likely’ to travel in April, a source said Times.

Rumors have been circulating for months that the King would travel to the US next year, following Trump’s successful visit to the UK.

Immediately after the trip, a US official said: ‘They raised the bar on their trip to see us.’

Trump has often spoken fondly about the Royal Family, and his affection for them traces back to his late mother Mary, who grew up in Scotland and was a staunch royalist.

The US President described King Charles as ‘my friend’ during his last official visit.

Trump was welcomed with two days of glitz and glamour, including a glittering state dinner at Windsor Castle.

Prince William is expected to visit the United States during the World Cup in his capacity as president of the Football Association.

England’s group matches against Croatia, Ghana and Panama at the World Cup, which runs from 11 June to 19 July, will be played in Dallas, Boston and New Jersey.

King Charles is expected to visit in April in a move British diplomats hope will help seal talks on a UK-US trade deal

Trump often spoke fondly about the royal family and described King Charles as ‘my friend’

The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence will be celebrated on July 4, and it is possible that the Prince of Wales will be in the United States on Independence Day.

Speaking alongside the US President in September, King Charles also spoke passionately about the ‘special relationship’ between the US and the UK.

‘I have always admired the ingenuity of the American people and the principles of freedom that your great democracy has represented since its inception,’ he said.

“Throughout my life, since my first visit to the United States in 1970 – and I have made 20 visits since then – I have valued the close bond between the British and American people,” King Charles added.

Speaking after the visit, Trump said the following about the Monarch: ‘We have been together for a long time.

‘Two days really. I just left him. He’s a great person. I originally knew him as Prince Charles, now King Charles. And people in this country love it.’

The king’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, made five official visits to the United States with President Dwight D Eisenhower, starting in 1957.

In 1976, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip visited Philadelphia, New York and Washington DC as part of the 200th anniversary celebrations of independence, where they were hosted at the White House by Gerald Ford.

The £31bn ‘tech welfare’ deal (pictured at the royal banquet), which was seen as a major victory when announced during Trump’s state visit in September, has been stalled

The late Queen Elizabeth visited the United States on five state visits, most recently in 2007. (Photo taken with former US President George Bush at the White House in 1991)

Talking about his visit in his Christmas speech the same year, he said: ‘This year we went to America to attend their bicentennial celebrations.

‘200 years ago King III. Who would have thought that a descendant of George would be able to attend these celebrations?

‘Yet this same King was one of the first to realize that old scores needed to be settled and differences reconciled.’

He added: ‘The United States was born in bitter conflict with Britain, but we did not remain enemies for long.’

During his last visit, former President Bush made a famous blunder in which he mixed up the dates, telling her he was ‘helping our nation celebrate its bicentennial on 17 – 1976.’

Bush later joked that after the Queen looked at him, ‘she gave me a look that only a mother could look at her child’.

Buckingham Palace has been contacted for comment.