King Charles III and Queen Camilla Begin U.S. State Visit With Trump Welcome

King Charles III and Queen Camilla are travelling to the United States for what Buckingham Palace described as “the most significant overseas visit of his reign to date,” with the trip coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the US declaring independence and the original 13 colonies breaking away from British rule under King George III.

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

Al Jazeera

The four-day state visit is scheduled to run from Monday, April 27, until Thursday, April 30, with the royals arriving in the US on April 27 and leaving Washington DC on April 30.

Al Jazeera

The itinerary begins with President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump welcoming King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the South Portico of the White House, followed by a private tea in the Green Room and a tour of the newly expanded White House beehive on the South Lawn near the Kitchen Garden.

On April 28, the programme includes a State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn, military honours by the United States Army Herald Trumpets, national anthems performed by the United States Marine Band, and a 21-gun salute from the Presidential Salute Battery.

The day also features 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.

The schedule then splits, with Donald Trump and King Charles III holding a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office while Melania Trump and Queen Camilla attend a cross-cultural event with students at the White House Tennis Pavilion using “virtual reality and AI tools to explore UK–US ties.”

The state visit is proceeding despite heightened security concerns after a shooting incident in Washington DC on Saturday night, which Buckingham Palace said had prompted discussions “on both sides of the Atlantic through the day” and “acting on advice of Government.”

The Guardian reported that King Charles’s security is being reviewed before his state visit after a gunman attempted to storm a dinner attended by Donald Trump in Washington DC, with guests at the White House correspondents’ dinner hiding under tables when gunshots were heard and the Secret Service evacuated the president and other members of his administration.

AP News

The Guardian said nobody was killed in the attack, although one officer wearing a bulletproof vest who was shot was taken to hospital, and it identified the suspect as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, who was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon.

Buckingham Palace said in a statement that “we can confirm the state visit by their majesties will proceed as planned,” adding that the king and queen were “greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.”

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, told Sky News’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that the US and UK were “working closely to ensure that security arrangements are put appropriately in place” for the visit, and he said “There’ll be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk.”

The BBC similarly reported that chief secretary Darren Jones told BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that “further discussions [on security] will be taking place today”, and that “there will be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk.”

France 24 added that Buckingham Palace said the visit would take place despite the shooting at a gala the night before, and that Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, his wife Melania and other guests were unharmed.

Multiple outlets frame the timing of King Charles III’s US visit as a response to strains in US-UK relations, particularly around President Donald Trump’s war on Iran and Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s refusal to support it.

“Reflecting about his first visit to the United States in 1970, King Charles III has previously said that "they were trying to marry me off to Tricia Nixon" — the then-president's eldest daughter”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Al Jazeera said the trip comes “at a time when relations between the US and UK are particularly sensitive, amid public differences over President Donald Trump’s war on Iran,” and it noted that the four-day trip would go ahead “as planned” despite the Washington DC shooting.

The AP described the challenge for Charles as living up to Queen Elizabeth II’s 1991 approach while “seeks to calm tensions surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s refusal to support U.S. President Donald Trump’s war against Iran,” citing Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University in Texas.

Brinkley told the Associated Press that “We’ve got to always make the distinction that there’s a difference between the government of the U.K. and the kings and queens of Great Britain,” and he added that “Politics come and go, prime ministers, presidents, come and go, but there’s something deeper about the special relationship between the United States and the U.K.”

NPR similarly said the visit comes “at a time of growing strain between the two allies,” including disagreements over U.S. Israeli-led war in Iran, and it reported that “Polling there shows most Britons do not support the trip.”

The ABC reported that the state visit is under significant strain “thanks to a growing spat between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the war in the Middle East,” and it quoted royal commentator Afua Hagan saying, “The optics of King Charles III travelling to the United States and shaking hands with Donald Trump whilst Donald Trump is waging a war against Iran is horrible at best.”

At the same time, the ABC quoted the Palace spokesperson saying after the shooting, “Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of Government, we can confirm the State Visit by Their Majesties will proceed as planned,” and it also quoted Trump describing Charles as “a great gentleman,” “a friend,” and “a fantastic person.”

The visit has drawn sharply different reactions in Britain, with opposition focused on optics and support framed around diplomacy and the “special relationship.”

NPR reported that Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey told Parliament, “Surely the Prime Minister can't send our King to meet a man who treats our country like a mafia boss running a protection racket,” while the ABC quoted Davey saying, “[Trump] is a dangerous and corrupt gangster, and that is how we must treat him,” and adding, “I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his side. We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”

Bangor Daily News

The ABC also included comments from people outside Buckingham Palace, where Jamie from Gloucestershire said, “It's really shocking for me that the King of Britain is visiting someone so extreme in his actions, in his views,” while Abhinav, 32, from London said the king should not take the trip and argued, “If the king goes to meet Donald Trump, it would pre-emptively be reinforcing Donald Trump's behaviour to keep bullying other countries and Donald Trump would inevitably feel that he can keep on doing what he's doing.”

In contrast, Jacob, 20, told the ABC, “I think the king's trying to keep the UK's relations with America in check, so I think it's good to go,” and Peter, 28, said, “if there's anybody who can get through to Trump, I do think it would be the king.”

NPR quoted Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisting the visit should go ahead, saying, “The monarchy is an important reminder of the long-standing bonds and enduring relationship between our two countries which are far greater than anyone who occupies any particular office at any particular time.”

Royal biographer Catherine Mayer, speaking to NPR, said the timing puts Charles in a difficult position, warning that “The sight of Charles being sent over that Charles and Camilla, being sent over there as emissaries, makes people quite understandably uneasy,” and she added, “You're sending this totem supposedly of being above politics and being above the vicissitudes of the everyday, straight into the maw of one of the most communicative and irascible presidents ever.”

Even as critics raised concerns, the AP reported that despite Starmer’s refusal to support Trump’s Iran policy, “Trump has continued to speak warmly about Charles,” with Brinkley saying, “History has shown that President Trump really tries to be impressive whenever he’s dealing with British royalty.”

Beyond Iran tensions and the shooting, the visit also carries other political and cultural flashpoints, including the controversy around Jeffrey Epstein and the royal family’s wider scrutiny.

The Guardian said the king has been criticised for ignoring calls to meet Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, and it linked the criticism to the royal family becoming embroiled in the scandal when Charles’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of leaking sensitive documents to the convicted child sex offender when he worked as a trade envoy.

BBC

NPR similarly said the visit could resurface sensitive issues, including “continued scrutiny around the King's brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal titles and has faced renewed legal and public attention over allegations linked to his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.”

France 24 described Epstein as “the scandal around late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein [that] threatens to encroach on the highly choreographed tour,” and it added that Charles has faced a major crisis over his brother Andrew’s friendship with the late billionaire, noting that Andrew was arrested in mid-February and that the king stripped him of his titles in October.

At the same time, the state visit’s public-facing programme includes technology-forward events and conservation symbolism, which outlets say are designed to shape the tone of the trip.

USA Today reported that the White House unveiled new details including a tour of the newly expanded White House beehive and an AI-focused student event led by Melania Trump and Queen Camilla, with students using virtual reality headsets to learn about the United Kingdom and “AI-enabled glasses” to explore American history and the “special relationship” by examining artifacts from the White House Collection and the National Archives and Records Administration.

The Guardian also reported that the king will take part in a 9/11 wreath-laying ceremony with the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, in memory of the 67 British people killed in the 2001 attack, which took almost 3,000 lives, and it said the king will meet the US president privately and take part in a state banquet held for him and Queen Camilla.