King Charles to meet with Trump in the US
London: King Charles will meet US President Donald Trump in the next few weeks after deciding to make a state visit to the US at a time of clear tension between the White House and the British government.
The King announced the plan after weeks of debate about the wisdom of the visit amid the conflict with Iran, as Trump accused British Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being a weak leader who did not do enough to help the United States win the war.
The state visit, the King’s first to the US as a monarch, will take place in late April and will include Queen Camilla. The couple last visited the US in 2005 on an official tour as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
After the USA, the King will go to Bermuda for a state visit.
The plan is a response to Trump’s state visit to the UK last September; The visit includes a lavish welcome ceremony for the president at Windsor Castle and a banquet attended by guests ranging from tech billionaires to News Corp media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
At the banquet, Trump spoke with effusive praise for the King and said his state visit to the United Kingdom – an unprecedented second state visit for a US leader – was one of the greatest honors of his life.
The president also described the relationship between the United States and Britain in glowing terms.
“We are like two notes on a chord or two lines of the same poem, each beautiful on its own but actually meant to be played together,” he said.
But relations have since deteriorated since the US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February, with Trump repeatedly belittling Starmer and the UK prime minister refusing to send any forces to assist with the attacks.
While Starmer allowed the US to use British bases for defensive purposes, including hosting US Air Force bombers at Fairford base in England, Trump said the prime minister was “no Winston Churchill”.
Buckingham Palace noted that the visit to the USA was decided together with the government.
“On the advice of Her Majesty’s Government and at the invitation of the President of the United States, the King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America,” the Palace said in a statement published at 1pm (11pm AEDT) in London on Tuesday. he said.
“Her Majesty’s program will celebrate the historic links and modern bilateral relations between the United Kingdom and the United States to mark the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
“The King will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit to a British Overseas Territory as Sovereign.”
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David Crowe is the European correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect with: X or email.
