King Charles and Queen Camilla Begin Four-Day U.S. State Visit With Donald Trump

King Charles III and Queen Camilla began a four-day state visit to the United States on Monday, April 27, arriving in Washington after the trip was confirmed to “proceed as planned” despite heightened security concerns following a shooting incident in Washington, DC, on Saturday night.

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Buckingham Palace said the visit would be “an opportunity to recognise the shared history of our two nations; the breadth of the economic, security and cultural relationship that has developed since then; and the deep people-to-people connections which unite communities,” and multiple outlets described the opening moments as the royals met President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for tea at the White House.

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The itinerary described by Al Jazeera and USA Today placed the arrival on April 27 and the end of the visit on Thursday, April 30, with the schedule spanning Washington, New York City, and Virginia.

Reuters and the BBC also tied the start of the trip to the same security context, with the BBC noting the visit came “as the US approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain.”

The Associated Press reporting cited by PBS said the palace confirmed the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed,” and that after a security review the trip “will proceed as planned.”

In Washington, the royals were welcomed by the White House head of protocol Monica Crowley and the UK ambassador to the US Sir Christian Turner, with a military band playing both national anthems while they waited to enter their vehicle en route to the White House, according to the BBC’s in-pictures account.

The opening day also included a garden party at the British ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC, with CNN describing the royals attending a garden party after tea and the Independent describing the garden party as part of the first day’s program.

The core formal centerpiece of the visit is scheduled for Tuesday, April 28, when King Charles is expected to address a joint meeting of the US Congress, described by Al Jazeera as “the first time a British monarch has done so since 1991.”

Al Jazeera’s itinerary laid out a full ceremonial program beginning with a state arrival ceremony on the South Lawn, followed by military honours by the US Army Herald Trumpets and national anthems performed by the US Marine Band with a 21-gun salute from the Presidential Salute Battery.

ABC News

The same schedule described an inspection of the troops accompanied by the US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, and remarks by the president, before the royals appear on the Blue Room Balcony for a “Pass in Review” of 300 US service members, with nearly 500 personnel from all six branches taking part.

After the ceremony, the royals would sign the White House guest book, take part in an official gift exchange, and join a receiving line with US and UK delegations, before the schedule splits between a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office and separate events for the first lady and the queen at the White House Tennis Pavilion.

USA Today and ABC News both described the royals’ Monday activities as including a tour of the White House beehive, with ABC News saying Charles and Camilla were shown the beehive by President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump during their visit Monday.

CNN added that the king is expected to make a brief reference to the Saturday shooting incident during his scheduled joint address to Congress tomorrow, linking the formal program to the security environment.

NBC News also reported that Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend King Charles’ address to a joint session of Congress, with Vance “expected to attend” as described by NBC News sources.

Multiple outlets framed the visit as taking place amid strained US-UK relations, with Al Jazeera describing that it comes “at a time when relations between the US and the UK are particularly sensitive, amid public differences over President Donald Trump’s war on Iran.”

“Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla are travelling to the United States for what is anticipated to be the most significant overseas visit of his reign to date”

Al Jazeera

CNN similarly said the trip comes as US-UK relations are strained by the war in Iran, with Trump slamming Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s refusal to assist the US militarily, while Al Jazeera’s background section also said analysts pointed to strains between the US and the UK over Iran, NATO, trade, and Britain’s digital services tax.

The Independent and PBS both described the political stakes around Iran and the US-UK relationship, with PBS saying “A rift between the U.K. government and Trump over issues including the Iran war had already raised the political stakes for the British monarch's visit.”

PBS also reported that Trump had lambasted Keir Starmer over unwillingness to join US military attacks on Iran, dismissing Starmer as “not Winston Churchill,” and it described a wider rift between Trump and NATO allies whom he called “cowards” and “useless” for not joining action against Iran.

CNN quoted British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper telling Jake Tapper that the King’s visit is “really important” for US-UK relations and that there would ultimately be issues on which the two countries disagree, while Cooper said the visit would have consequences for shared security and the economies.

In the same CNN account, Cooper said there are “two and a half million jobs that are dependent on the trade between our two countries,” tying the diplomatic context to economic stakes.

The Independent’s account also included Cooper’s remarks, quoting her that “When you've got a strong relationship, the depth, richness of the one that we have going back so many years, of course, there are always going to be things that we disagree about,” and that “There will be things where we take different views, but also things where we work immensely closely together”.

The visit’s start was shaped by a security review after a shooting incident in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, with Buckingham Palace saying the four-day trip would go ahead “as planned” despite heightened security concerns.

PBS reported that the palace said the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed,” and that after a security review the palace confirmed the trip “will proceed as planned.”

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Al Jazeera described that the trip would proceed “as planned” despite heightened security concerns following the shooting incident in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, and it also explained that the state visit coincided with the 250th anniversary of the US declaring independence.

USA Today and Fox News both quoted Buckingham Palace’s confirmation that the shooting had not derailed the visit, with USA Today attributing to Reuters a Buckingham Palace spokesperson statement that the state visit “will proceed as planned.”

Fox News Digital similarly quoted a Buckingham Palace spokesperson saying, “Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on [the] advice of [the] government, we can confirm the State Visit by Their Majesties will proceed as planned,” and it described the shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner attended by Trump and other administration officials.

CNN added that the king is expected to make a brief reference to the incident during his scheduled joint address to Congress tomorrow, linking the security context directly to the speech.

CBS News also said it was “not clear how their plans may be affected by additional security considerations after Saturday night's at the White House Correspondents' Dinner,” while still describing the palace statement that the visit would proceed.

As the visit moves beyond Washington, the itinerary described by Al Jazeera and Fox News places King Charles and Queen Camilla in New York City and Virginia before returning to Washington, DC, on Thursday, April 30.

“In pictures: King Charles and Queen Camilla begin US state visit King Charles III and Queen Camilla have arrived in the US at the start of their four-day state visit to the US - the first since Queen Elizabeth II's state visit in 2007”

BBC

Al Jazeera said the royals are expected to attend a ceremony at the September 11 memorial in New York City, marking the upcoming 25th anniversary of the attacks and meeting first responders, and it said they are expected to be joined by the city’s mayor, Zohran Mamdani.

BBC

The same Al Jazeera itinerary said the royals are scheduled to travel to Virginia for events linked to celebrations marking 250 years since the US founding, including a community “block party.”

Fox News similarly described the trip wrapping up in Virginia with a community block party marking America 250, and it said King Charles is also expected to visit a national park to meet with Indigenous communities involved in conservation efforts.

In Washington on April 30, Al Jazeera said the king and queen will be back in Washington, DC, with an official farewell at the South Portico of the White House followed by a departure ceremony in the Diplomatic Reception Room.

Al Jazeera also said the visit will then continue to Bermuda, where further engagements are planned for May 1 and 2.

USA Today added that the schedule includes a formal state dinner at the White House and an address to a joint session of Congress before venturing to other nearby states, while ABC News described the trip as visiting Washington, D.C., New York City, and Virginia.