King Charles III Begins Four-Day U.S. State Visit, Meets Donald Trump and Melania Trump

King Charles III and Queen Camilla began a four-day U.S. state visit on Monday, arriving in Washington, D.C., as the United States prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of its independence from Britain.

“The trip will start in Washington D”

ABC News

The trip is framed as a celebration of the “special relationship,” with the palace saying, “The visit will 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.”

ABC News

Multiple outlets tied the opening moments to the same sequence: the royals met President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for afternoon tea at the White House, then attended a garden party at the British ambassador’s residence.

The BBC described the start of the visit with a guard of honour, national anthems, and the meeting with Trump and Melania Trump, while NBC News reported the couple were greeted at the White House after landing at Joint Base Andrews.

In a separate account, PBS/AP said a shooting at a Washington dinner attended by Trump on Saturday sparked a last-minute security review of the four-day state visit, and the palace said the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.”

The visit’s itinerary also includes New York City and Virginia, with Fox News saying the royal couple will travel from April 27 through April 30 and CBS News describing a stop to honor victims of the 9/11 attacks and a final stop in Virginia.

The centerpiece of the visit is King Charles III’s address to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, which France 24 said is expected to promote “US-UK unity” despite widening differences between London and Washington.

France 24 reported the speech is scheduled to begin at 3pm EDT (1900 GMT) and that it will be only the second address by a British sovereign to the U.S. Congress after Queen Elizabeth II spoke to both houses in 1991.

Al Jazeera

The outlet also said the king’s speech is expected to last about 20 minutes and that “Time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together,” and that he will describe the partnership as “one of the greatest alliances in human history.”

CNN added that the King is expected to make a brief reference to Saturday’s shooting incident during his scheduled joint address to Congress tomorrow, and it quoted the speech framing as solidarity and shared footing.

NBC News said Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend the address to a joint session of Congress tomorrow afternoon, and it described the seating as “behind the king, alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.”

CBS News similarly described the schedule as a private tea, a White House beehive tour, a ceremonial military review, a bilateral meeting, and then the joint address followed by a state dinner.

The visit’s start was shadowed by a shooting at a Washington dinner attended by President Donald Trump on Saturday, which PBS/AP said triggered a last-minute security review of the four-day state visit.

“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

PBS/AP reported that Buckingham Palace said the trip would proceed after the review, quoting the palace as saying the king “is greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed.”

USA Today likewise described Buckingham Palace’s decision, quoting a spokesperson: “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 added that the king and queen were “most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case.”

People reported that after gunfire left “one Secret Service agent injured” as the annual political event began on April 25, Buckingham Palace told it, “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.”

CNN said the King is expected to make a brief reference to Saturday’s shooting incident during his scheduled joint address to Congress tomorrow.

ABC News also tied the visit to “a heightened time, following a shooting incident outside the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner,” and it described the royals’ Monday arrival and White House beehive viewing.

Beyond security, the visit is occurring amid political strain between the U.S. and the U.K., with multiple outlets linking the tension to the war in Iran and to public clashes involving President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

CBC said relations are strained “particularly over the war in Iran,” and it noted “the repeated and pointed criticisms U.S. President Donald Trump has directed toward both Britain and its prime minister, Keir Starmer.”

CBC

France 24 described the king’s speech as promoting unity “at a time of differences between the British government and US President Donald Trump over the US-Israeli war on Iran,” and it said the king and Camilla are “steering clear of the political rifts between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.”

PBS/AP added that a rift between the U.K. government and Trump over issues including the Iran war had already raised the political stakes, and it quoted Trump’s description of Starmer as “not Winston Churchill,” while also describing a leaked Pentagon email suggesting the U.S. could reassess support for the U.K.'s claim to the Falkland Islands.

CBS News similarly said the “special relationship” is threatened by “the U.S. war with Iran and the president's derision of NATO,” and it described Trump’s criticism of Starmer’s reluctance to join the U.S.-Israeli war effort or fight for the Strait of Hormuz.

France 24 also reported that Trump has imposed tariffs on the UK and warned of additional levies despite a Supreme Court ruling earlier this year, and it said Trump threatened just last week to slap a “big tariff” on the UK if it doesn't scrap a digital services tax.

Outlets diverged in how they framed the purpose and symbolism of the visit, even while describing the same core events.

“Washington — King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in the U”

CBS News

CBC emphasized the itinerary’s formal hallmarks and quoted royal author Carolyn Harris about how the circumstances are “a very delicate diplomatic mission simply representing the United Kingdom’s interests without the dual nature of the King's role as King of Canada and King of the United Kingdom being embodied in a single state visit.”

CBS News

France 24 focused on the content and tone of the Congress address, saying the king is expected to promote unity and that “While written on the advice of the British government, much of the language and tone comes from Charles himself.”

CNN, by contrast, stressed the optics and the need for Charles to reference the shooting incident, describing how the speech will be viewed as an acknowledgment of “the recent tensions between the two nations, which has seen US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer publicly clash over the Iran war.”

PBS/AP added a historical and political context, quoting Trump’s claim that the king’s visit could “absolutely” help repair the trans-Atlantic relationship, with Trump saying, “He's fantastic. He's a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes,” and it also included a University of Exeter professor’s view that for Charles the trip is about “reinforcing long-term ties” while for Trump it is “a media event.”

NBC News and People leaned into the schedule and ceremonial details, with NBC describing the garden party as “an event first held for King George VI in 1939” and People describing the visit as “a whirlwind four-day tour” tied to “shared prosperity, security and history.”