Britain’s King Charles is heading to the United States next week for the most high-profile visit of his reign so far, including a mission to salvage the future of the two allies’ “special relationship”, which has been hit by the Iran war to its lowest level in 70 years.
The state visit marks the 250th anniversary of the American Declaration of Independence from British rule, when the then 13 American colonies decided to secede from King George III, Charles’s five-times great-grandfather.
For Charles, it will be a moment to reflect on how Britain and the United States have come together to form the world’s closest security, military and economic ties, while for US President Donald Trump it will be another chance to show his love for the British royals.
It also comes against the backdrop of the worst relations between the two countries since the Suez crisis in 1956, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer repeatedly criticized by Trump over his refusal to join the attack on Iran and dismissive comments about Britain’s military capabilities.
Nigel Sheinwald, Britain’s ambassador to Washington from 2007 to 2012, said the visit was not designed to heal any existing bitterness between the governments, but that it would demonstrate relations that are much deeper than any one person realizes.
“More than any other trip, this is about the long term. This is about the fundamentals of the relationship between our people, our countries,” Sheinwald said. reuters.
“It’s not about what’s happening today.”
Charles, accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, will begin the four-day visit on Monday with a private tea with Trump before addressing Congress, a state dinner and a tour of New York and Virginia.
Buckingham Palace has said it will not meet any of Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors. Charles’ brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested in February on suspicion of leaking government documents to the late American sex offender.
Former Prince Andrew has denied any wrongdoing.
In Britain, some politicians and commentators have said that the trip should have been canceled given some of Trump’s recent comments. There are also fears that the unpredictable US president could use the opportunity to further criticize and potentially embarrass the king.
Sheinwald and current U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens in London has said it would be harmful. Royal aides say privately that Trump, who calls the king a “great guy,” behaved impeccably during his unprecedented two state visits to Britain in 2019 and last year.
“He’s a huge royalist,” said royal biographer Robert Hardman. reuters.
“He has a mindset when it comes to the British government, but the British monarchy is a completely different element, and he’s a big fan of it. And he was a big fan of the late Queen, who was a big fan of the King. For him, this is a big moment.”
In some ways, Charles’s visit echoes one made by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 1957, a year after the Suez Crisis roiled the Middle East, in which British, French and Israeli troops were forced to halt their invasion of Egypt following pressure from the United States.
His visit then succeeded in winning the heart of US President Dwight Eisenhower and smoothening relations between the allies.
Eisenhower said, “The respect we have for Britain is symbolized by our affection for the Royal Family, who have greatly honored us by making this visit to our shores.”
It is this so-called “soft power” that Charles, who has honed his diplomatic skills for more than half a century, will try to deploy again.
His power to influence the president is such that Hardman said he understood that Trump had hit back at comments he made about British and other NATO troops being away from the front lines in Afghanistan after receiving a private message from the king.
Diplomats say that in their private meeting, Charles will be able to speak openly again, but Hardman said the king was not there to “poke holes in President Trump’s policies.”
“It’s simply not the role of a king, and it’s certainly not the purpose of a state visit,” Hardman said. “It will be about looking back at all those…shared efforts between two great allies and…looking forward, perhaps…not trying to look too closely at the present.”
