Trump Assures King Charles III Safety After Gunman Accesses White House Correspondents' Dinner

A four-day state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the United States is set to begin later on Monday, after heightened security concerns in Washington following an incident in which a gunman gained access to an event attended by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The BBC reported that further security talks took place between the White House and Buckingham Palace after the Saturday incident, and that Trump told CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday that the White House grounds are “really safe.”

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Anadolu Ajansı said UK ambassador Christian Turner described the visit as an effort to “renew and revitalize a unique friendship” between Britain and the US, despite the security scare.

CNBC added that the shooting happened at the White House Correspondents' Dinner on Saturday in Washington Hilton hotel, where Trump and First Lady Melania and top U.S. officials were bundled out of harm's way by security agents as a suspected shooter tried to gain access to the hall.

CNBC also identified the suspected gunman as 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen, and said he was apprehended by security personnel and is due to be formally charged in court in Washington on Monday.

Buckingham Palace said the programme would go ahead largely as planned, with “a few minor modifications to the schedule,” and CNBC quoted the Palace comment: “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.”

The visit is due to begin in Washington DC, where the King and Queen will be welcomed by Trump and first lady Melania Trump, and the BBC said the King and Queen privately reached out to the Trumps to give their sympathies after the attack.

The security scare arrived at a moment when relations between Washington and London were already strained, with Trump criticizing Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his stance on the US-Israeli war with Iran, and with disagreements persisting between the allies.

Anadolu Ajansı said the visit comes at a difficult moment in relations, noting that Trump criticized Starmer over his stance on the US-Israeli war with Iran, while disagreements persist between the allies.

Anadolu Ajansı

CNBC described the trip as taking place amid ongoing Iran war tensions, saying the conflict has caused tensions between Washington and London, with the British government refusing to get “dragged into” the war.

The Washington Post framed the visit as occurring “in the middle of one of the sharpest fights between Washington and London in generations,” describing Trump and Starmer tussling over the president’s war on Iran and whether either side still wants to hold on to close cooperation of the past.

The Washington Post also said preparations were shadowed by Saturday’s shooting at the annual White House correspondents’ dinner, which forced the evacuation of Trump, most of his Cabinet and hundreds of journalists, officials and celebrities.

Spectrum News added that 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, and it cited Trump lambasting Starmer over unwillingness to join U.S. military attacks on Iran, dismissing Britain’s leader as “not Winston Churchill.”

Spectrum News also referenced a leaked Pentagon email suggesting the U.S. could reassess support for the U.K.'s sovereignty over the Falkland Islands, and it noted that Britain and Argentina fought a 1982 war over the islands, also known as the Islas Malvinas.

Against that backdrop, the BBC said the UK government hoped the visit could ease diplomatic tensions, while the Washington Post described the visit as intended to showcase close Anglo-American relations 250 years after the Declaration of Independence.

The visit’s continuation has been defended by U.S. and UK officials while criticized by opposition figures, and the security response has been described as extensive and ongoing.

The BBC reported that Buckingham Palace said the King and Queen's programme will go ahead largely as planned, with the UK government hoping it could ease diplomatic tensions, and it quoted UK ambassador Sir Christian Turner saying the visit would be about “renewing and revitalising a unique friendship” between the two countries.

The BBC also quoted Trump telling CBS' 60 Minutes that the White House grounds are “really safe,” and it described the King and Queen privately reaching out to the Trumps to give their sympathies after the attack, during which a Secret Service agent was lightly injured and the president and his wife were rushed to safety.

Anadolu Ajansı said Turner told CBS 60 Minutes that the four-day state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla would go ahead largely as planned, following talks between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday.

Opposition criticism was explicit: Anadolu Ajansı reported that Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey called for the visit to be cancelled, describing Trump as an “unreliable” ally, and it said Green Party co-leader Zack Polanski said he “feels sorry” for the king, arguing the UK should take “a sterner line.”

The BBC added that Labour MP Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said she remained “anxious” about the potential diplomatic implications of the visit, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme: “It is a really high-wire act and the president is so unpredictable, you just don't know what he's going to say.”

On the security side, the Guardian reported that Charles’s visit will have “appropriate security in place in relation to the risk,” citing a minister and quoting Darren Jones telling the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme: “There’ll be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk.”

The Guardian also quoted a Buckingham Palace spokesperson saying: “A number of discussions will be taking place throughout the day to discuss with US colleagues and our respective teams to what degree the events of Saturday evening may or may not impact on the operational planning for the visit.”

The planned itinerary places the visit’s political and symbolic weight on events in Washington DC, New York and Virginia, including King Charles’s address to a joint meeting of Congress and a state dinner at the White House.

CNBC said the king and queen will be welcomed by Trump and the first lady on arriving in Washington on Monday afternoon, and it described a garden party including guests representing ties between the two countries, followed by a formal ceremony welcoming the Royals later at the White House featuring a ceremonial military review.

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CNBC said King Charles is due to meet privately with the president and then address both houses of Congress, marking only the second time a British monarch has addressed a joint meeting, following Queen Elizabeth II's speech at the Capitol during a state visit to the U.S. in 1991.

It added that Charles and Camilla will return to the White House for a state dinner hosted by Trump and his wife, and that the visit will then see the Royals visiting New York and Virginia to mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The BBC described the visit as a charm offensive, saying it would include ceremonial events in Washington and a symbolic show of solidarity at the 9/11 Memorial in New York, and it said the diplomatic centrepiece will be the King's speech to the US Congress on Tuesday.

The BBC also said the US president will make his own remarks at a state dinner at the White House, and it described the King and Queen privately reaching out to the Trumps after the Saturday attack.

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

The Washington Post said the king and Queen Camilla started their trip by going directly to the White House, where they were greeted by Trump and first lady Melania Trump, and it described handshakes for the king and queen from the president and double cheek kisses for the royals from his wife before going inside for tea.

While all the outlets describe the visit proceeding after the Saturday shooting, they diverge in emphasis—some foreground security assurances and operational continuity, while others foreground political unpredictability and the potential for diplomatic pitfalls.

“- Published Donald Trump has said King Charles III will "be very safe" during his state visit to the US, which is due to begin later on Monday”

BBC

The BBC focused on the reassurance that the programme will go ahead largely as planned, quoting Trump’s “really safe” remarks and Buckingham Palace’s statement that the King and Queen's programme will proceed largely as planned, with the UK government hoping it could ease diplomatic tensions.

BBC

The Guardian, by contrast, framed the visit as “obviously beyond tricky” and centered its analysis on the risk of dealing with someone “so unpredictable,” quoting contemporary political historian Anthony Seldon and warning that Charles could “either be very cautious and safe, or he can remind the American people of the basis on which the United States was formed 250 years ago.”

The Guardian also quoted Prof Philip Murphy saying the risk was more significant for Keir Starmer than for Charles, and it included Murphy’s view that the visit involved “a desperate desire to court Trump and to take really significant risks.”

The Washington Post emphasized the sharpness of the fight over Iran, describing Trump and Starmer tussling and noting that preparations were shadowed by the correspondents’ dinner shooting that forced evacuation of Trump, most of his Cabinet and hundreds of journalists, officials and celebrities.

Spectrum News highlighted the political stakes and the possibility of embarrassment, quoting Ed Davey saying “I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his side” and adding that Starmer defended the visit by saying “the monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is often able to reach through the decades.”

Anadolu Ajansı and CNBC both reported the visit would proceed largely as planned after talks, but CNBC added the detail that Buckingham Palace said there would be “a few minor modifications to the schedule,” while Anadolu Ajansı stressed the ambassador’s message about “renew and revitalize a unique friendship.”

Even within security framing, the Guardian quoted Darren Jones saying “There’ll be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk,” while the BBC described extensive discussions and the palace spokesperson saying talks were ongoing about whether Saturday evening’s events would impact operational planning.

The consequences of the security incident and the underlying political tensions are concentrated in the visit’s high-profile moments, particularly the King’s address to Congress and the state dinner remarks by Trump, with multiple outlets describing the need to balance policy and diplomacy.

The BBC said the diplomatic centrepiece will be the King's speech to the US Congress on Tuesday, in which the King will have to achieve a balancing act between asserting the UK government's positions and maintaining cordial relations with the US president, and it added that the US president will make his own remarks at a state dinner at the White House.

The Guardian described Charles’s address as “possibly his most important to date,” noting that it will be televised internationally and that Buckingham Palace said he will “recognise the challenges that our countries face,” while Prof Philip Murphy warned that what Charles says could be read as a direct attack on Trump.

The Guardian also quoted Murphy saying: “That would be taken as a direct attack on Trump now,” and it included Murphy’s view that Charles would try to appeal “almost over the head of Trump to the American public.”

The Washington Post similarly described the visit as a chance to mend ties but framed it as occurring amid sharp fights over Iran, saying Trump has taken aim at Starmer over reluctance to support the war and Britain’s initial ban on U.S. planes’ using its air bases for the attack on Iran.

Spectrum News said Charles “has nothing to do with that,” quoting Trump’s March comment, and it emphasized that the king’s visit is the first state visit to the country since becoming king in 2022, with the king spending four days in the U.S. accompanied by Queen Camilla.

Anadolu Ajansı and BBC both reported that the visit is intended to “renew and revitalise a unique friendship,” but the BBC also said the visit comes at an unusually difficult time for the US and UK partnership, and it cited criticism from Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey calling Trump “unreliable.”

In the security dimension, the Guardian reported that further discussions about the king’s security would take place on Sunday and that Buckingham Palace said talks were ongoing about whether Saturday evening’s events would impact operational planning.