Two and a half centuries after the American colonies declared their independence from Britain under King George III, his descendant King Charles III arrived at the White House on Monday with trans-Atlantic relations under pressure and security highlighted.
A shooting at a Washington dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday prompted a last-minute security review of the four-day trip, which aims to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, and the US-UK “special relationship”.
Buckingham Palace said the monarch was “very relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests were unharmed.”
Trump and first lady Melania Trump greeted Charles and Queen Camilla at the White House South Portico. The couple were supposed to chat over tea in the Green Room before going outside to see the White House-like beehive installed by the first lady last week.
Charles and Camilla both support beekeeping. He keeps at least three beehives on his private property in England as part of his support for nature and sustainability.
Trump praises the king but mocks Starmer
The disagreement between the UK government and Trump on issues including the Iran war had already raised political stakes with the British monarch’s visit.
In recent weeks, Trump has criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for his reluctance to join a US military strike on Iran, dismissing the British leader as “not Winston Churchill,” the World War II prime minister who coined the term “special relationship” for the UK-US bond.
It is part of a wider rift between Trump and the United States’ NATO allies, whom he has called “cowardly” and “irresponsible” for not engaging with Iran. A leaked Pentagon email suggested the US could re-evaluate UK sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic. Britain and Argentina fought a 1982 war over the islands, also known as Islas Malvinas.
The president insists that the political freeze will not interfere with the royal visit. Charles “has nothing to do with that,” Trump said in March, referring to NATO.
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The president spoke fondly of Charles, once again calling the king a “friend” and a “great guy”.
He also goes on to talk about his “amazing” trip to the UK in September with first lady Melania Trump for her unprecedented second visit. Starmer hand-delivered an invitation from the king in the Oval Office five weeks after Trump returned to office, in a public effort to woo the Republican president.
The UK royal family put on a show of pomp and pageantry for the Trumps, with red-clad guards, brass bands and a lavish banquet at Windsor Castle.
“President Trump has always held King Charles in high regard, and their relationship was greatly strengthened by the president’s visit to the United Kingdom last year,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Associated Press. “The president is looking forward to their Majesties’ special visit, which will include a sumptuous dinner and many events throughout the week.”
Trump, meanwhile, told the BBC that the king’s visit “could help” mend trans-Atlantic relations.
“He’s very good. He’s a smart man. The answer is definitely yes,” the president said.
Others called for the trip to be stopped
Kristofer Allerfeldt, a University of Exeter professor specializing in American history, said the two governments have very different goals for the trip.
He said for Charles, the trip was “about strengthening long-term relationships, demonstrating the soft power of the monarchy and reminding the world that Britain still carries the weight of nationalism.”
For Trump, it’s about a “press event,” emphasizing the idea of the visit as a meeting of “two kings with gold.”
Some UK politicians worry that the trip is fraught with potential for embarrassment. Trump’s recent outreach to Pope Leo XIV has raised those concerns.
Ed Davey, the leader of the UK opposition Liberal Democrats, earlier this month called Trump a “dangerous and corrupt thug” and urged the government to cancel the trip.
“I’m really afraid of what Trump might say or do when our king is forced to stand by him,” Davey said in the House of Representatives. “We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”
Starmer defended the visit, saying that “royalty, through the bonds it builds, often spans decades” and strengthens important relationships.
Andrew and Epstein make a shadow
Raising these issues is the reputation of the king’s younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal title of Prince Andrew, exiled from public life and placed under police investigation for his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. He denied committing the crimes.
Epstein’s victims have urged the king to meet with them and other survivors of sexual abuse. He is unlikely to do that.
Charles has visited the US 19 times, but this is his first visit to the country since becoming king in 2022. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, visited the US four times.
The king, who is 77 and was diagnosed with an undisclosed cancer in early 2024, will spend four days in the US accompanied by Queen Camilla.
In Washington, the king and queen will have a private tea with the Trumps and attend a garden party and an official White House dinner. The president and the king will also have individual meetings.
The royal couple will also visit the September 11 memorial in New York and attend a 250th birthday celebration in Virginia, where Charles will also meet with indigenous leaders involved in conservation – a favorite cause of the natural king.
Three centuries after Britain’s kings and queens relinquished any real political power, members of the royal family remain symbols of soft power, used by elected governments to smooth international relations and send messages about what the UK considers important.
A key moment will be the king’s speech to the US Congress on Tuesday. It is only the second time, after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991, that a UK monarch has addressed a joint session of both houses.
Elizabeth praised liberalism on that trip, spoke out against the idea that “power grows in the barrel of a gun” and praised the “rich racial and cultural diversity of both our societies.”
The king’s cherished causes, including the environment and interfaith harmony, are at odds with Trump’s. He is less likely to press the differences, but Allerfeldt said that, in the subtle way of a king, a king can use his speech to send a message.
“He has an unusual way of looking at the world, and I think he might have something to say when he talks to Congress,” Allerfeldt said.
