King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive for high-profile US state visit

Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla person arrived successful the United States for a four-day trip, a circuit that has taken connected adjacent greater prominence aft the White House Correspondents’ Association meal shooting and amid acrimony betwixt the adjacent allies.

The authorities sojourn connected Monday afternoon, by acold the astir high-profile and consequential of Charles’s reign, marks the 250th day of the US Declaration of Independence from British rule, and is the archetypal sojourn to the state by a British monarch for 2 decades.

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Charles and Camilla touched down astatine Joint Base Andrews astir 2:30pm (18:30 GMT), erstwhile they were greeted by diplomatic, state, and national officials, arsenic good arsenic elder members of the British embassy, and accepted flowers from the children of British subject families stationed successful the US.

The king, sporting a navy suit, and the queen, wearing a pinkish dress, stood connected the tarmac portion a subject set played the British and US nationalist anthems, earlier they headed to the White House for a backstage gathering with self-proclaimed royal instrumentality President Donald Trump.

The week’s docket besides includes an code to the US Congress, a lavish authorities meal astatine the White House, and a halt successful New York City.

Press meal shooting conscionable days earlier visit

The long-planned sojourn has go enmeshed successful a governmental spat betwixt the 2 countries implicit the US-Israel warfare connected Iran, which led Trump to dependable heavy displeasure with the British authorities for failing to enactment the offensive.

The shooting connected Saturday astatine the White House Correspondents’ Association meal successful Washington, wherever US officials person said the president and members of his medication were the apt targets, has formed a further pall implicit the visit.

Buckingham Palace said connected Sunday that the king “is greatly relieved to perceive that the president, archetypal woman and each guests person been unharmed”. After a information review, the palace said the travel “will proceed arsenic planned”.

Trump has criticised the UK implicit Iran stance

On arriving successful Washington, the king and queen are scheduled to person a backstage beverage with the president, an unabashed person of the British royal household who regularly describes Charles arsenic a “great man”, and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump.

The 77-year-old king, who is inactive undergoing crab attraction that began successful February 2024, volition code Congress the adjacent time – conscionable the 2nd clip a British monarch has done so.

The royals volition past caput connected to New York City, wherever they volition commemorate those killed successful the September 11, 2001, attacks up of the 25th anniversary, portion the queen volition besides people the centenary of children’s stories featuring Winnie-the-Pooh.

The US travel concludes successful Virginia with the king gathering those progressive successful conservation work, a motion to his half-century of biology campaigning.

The authorities of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping the sojourn volition enactment up the aboriginal of the 2 allies’ “special relationship”, which is present astatine its lowest constituent since the Suez Crisis successful 1956.

Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla person posies from the children of British subject families based successful the United States, astatine Joint Base Andrews, successful Maryland, the US, Monday, April 27, 2026 [AP]

Britain’s ambassador to the US, Christian Turner, said the sojourn would underscore the shared history, sacrifice and communal values betwixt the 2 countries, adding that the attack would beryllium a precise British one: “Keep calm, transportation on.”

While Trump has eased his disapproval of Britain successful caller days implicit its effect to the Iran war, an interior Pentagon email acceptable retired however the US could reappraisal its presumption connected Britain’s assertion to the Falkland Islands as punishment for its deficiency of support, further straining ties.

“President Trump has ever had large respect for King Charles, and their narration was further strengthened by the president’s historical sojourn to the United Kingdom past year,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Associated Press. “The president looks guardant to a peculiar sojourn … which volition see a beauteous authorities meal and aggregate events passim the week.”

Trump, meanwhile, told the BBC that the king’s sojourn could “absolutely” assistance repair the transatlantic relationship.

One contented disconnected the array during the sojourn is the ungraded implicit convicted US enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein. Royal sources person said it was not imaginable for the king and queen to conscionable immoderate victims of Epstein during the tour, arsenic immoderate person requested, to debar impacting immoderate imaginable transgression cases.

Charles’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose estimation and royal lasting person been destroyed implicit his links to the precocious Epstein, is presently facing constabulary inquiries implicit his connections. The erstwhile Prince Andrew has denied immoderate wrongdoing.