Trump’s ambassador to UK warns cancelling King Charles’s state visit would be ‘a mistake’
Washington’s ambassador to the UK has warned that it would be “a mistake” to cancel King Charles’ planned state visit to the US.
Asked about calls to postpone the historic royal trip due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Warren Stephens said it would be wrong to cancel or postpone it and insisted the trip should go ahead.
In a question-and-answer session following his speech at the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London on Thursday, Mr Stephens declined to confirm the visit, which has not been officially announced, but added: “I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him.”
The diplomat said US House Speaker Mike Johnson offered Charles an address to both Houses of Congress while he was there.
It sounds like this Independent Congressional and Senate leaders have reportedly been told to prepare for a joint meeting to hear the matter. King Talk during the week starting April 27.
But the visit is overshadowed by the war in Iran and Donald Trump’s constant criticism of Keir Starmer. The US president claimed the Prime Minister was “no Winston Churchill” after initially refusing to allow the US to use RAF bases to launch attacks on Iran.
A source in Washington involved in organizing the visit said: Independent He said President Trump would “act crazy” and “blame the prime minister” if the visit was canceled.
The president considers King Charles a personal friend, and the visit coincides with celebrations in the United States of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
While the government insists the state visit is a matter for Buckingham Palace, decisions on royal events are understood to be made in consultation with the Foreign Office (FCDO) as an extension of UK diplomacy.
Senior politicians, including Dame Emily Thornberry, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, called for the visit to be canceled in the wake of the Iran war.
“If it were to go on next month – the dates haven’t been confirmed yet but everyone seems to think it will be next month – it would be going on in a wartime environment and I think that’s quite difficult. And the last thing we want to do is embarrass Her Majesty,” he told BBC Radio 4.
Liberal Democrats leader Sir Ed Davey also called for the visit to be cancelled.
“At a time when Trump has launched an illegal war that is devastating the Middle East and increasing energy bills for British families, it is clear that this visit should not go ahead,” the Liberal Democrat leader said. he added.
“Our King’s state visit would be seen as another major diplomatic coup for President Trump, so it should not be granted to someone who has repeatedly insulted and damaged our country.”
A recent YouGov poll reveals that almost half (49 per cent) of respondents believe the visit should be cancelled, while a third (33 per cent) support it continuing.
According to the survey, those most opposed to the visit are green voters with 70 percent, while Liberal Democrats and Labor voters are not far behind with 65 percent and 62 percent. Only Reform voters in the UK voted decisively in favor of it (63 per cent), while the Conservatives were split between 45 per cent and 43 per cent on the issue.
