A heavy security presence has been seen in Washington DC, ahead of King Charles III’s state visit to the United States. This comes after the assassination attempt on President Trump in the city yesterday. Britain’s ambassador said “all appropriate security measures” are in place. Sir Christopher Turner said security teams had been planning the trip for several weeks before the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Association and that adjustments were possible.
Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the visit will “go ahead as planned” following talks on both sides of the Atlantic and advice from governments. Sir Christopher said: “The real thing is that our respective security teams have been in close contact for weeks, and we can make whatever operational changes we need to make, and we are all confident that all the appropriate security measures are in place.”
Security teams in the UK and US worked overnight following the incident at the Washington Hilton hotel.
It is reported that minor adjustments are to be made to one or two royal events during the visit, but the overall plan will remain unchanged.
The King and Queen are understood to have personally contacted Mr Trump and his wife Melania on the night to express their sympathies to all those affected and express their gratitude to the security services who prevented further damage.
The royal couple will arrive in Washington on Monday for a four-day visit that will mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
The government also hopes it will strengthen the “special relationship” between Britain and the US, which has been under severe strain in recent months.
Mr Trump has described Britain’s approach to the Iran war as “terrible” and has repeatedly attacked Sir Keir – at one point describing him as “no Winston Churchill”.
Reports have suggested the US may review its position on the Falkland Islands in retaliation for Sir Kiir’s lack of support for the war in Iran.
Asked by the BBC whether the visit could help improve strained transatlantic relations, the President said: “Absolutely. He’s brilliant. He’s a brilliant man. The answer is absolutely yes.”
