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| President Trump has spoken of his warm relationship with King Charles (Image: Reuters) |
A state visit to the United States has been confirmed by Buckingham Palace, and King Charles and Queen Camilla will meet US President Donald Trump in late April. But the King is not expected to meet his US-based son, the Duke of Sussex, during his stay, the BBC understands.
Although such visits are made on behalf of the UK government, the US excursion has been anticipated for some time. An official announcement appeared to have been awaited until political tensions over the Iran war eased. Full details of the itinerary in the US have still to be released, but it will include Washington DC, in what will be the first UK state visit to the US since Queen Elizabeth II's visit in 2007.
Additionally, the King will visit Bermuda while returning from the United States. While Buckingham Palace's announcement spoke only of a trip in "late April", President Trump published on social media that the US visit will be 27-30 April, with "a beautiful Banquet Dinner at the White House on the evening of April 28th".
He stated that he would "look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect," along with First Lady Melania Trump. It will be horrendous!" Additionally, it is anticipated that King Charles will address Congress.
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But sources suggest he is not expected to meet his son Prince Harry, who lives in California, on the other coast to where the King will be meeting President Trump, during a trip which is likely to be tightly-packed with official events.
This year marks the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence, and the trip will focus a lot on that. According to Buckingham Palace, the trip will "celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship" between the two nations. Shortly before the trip was announced on Tuesday, President Trump lashed out at the UK and other countries over the Iran war, telling them to "go get your own oil" from the Strait of Hormuz and "the USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us".
Ever since President Trump's visit to the UK last September, there has been speculation about the King carrying out a return visit.
Trump said last week about his time with the King: "He honoured me and our country... we had an amazing time." This seemed to have improved relations between the UK and the United States. Trump also spoke of the warmth of his personal relationship with the King - "I think he's fantastic" - and the president said he was looking forward to hosting the King at a state banquet.
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| President Trump said he felt "honoured" by his reception in Windsor last year (Image: Reuters) |
However, there have been political disagreements, including those regarding the Iran war, where Trump referred to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as "no Winston Churchill" in public. This came after a dispute in which British veterans were enraged by Trump's apparent downplaying of the UK's involvement in Afghanistan. Both rows had raised questions about whether a state visit to the US in April should go ahead - with Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey saying it should be cancelled.
According to a survey conducted by YouGov this past week, 33% of British citizens supported the state visit to the United States and 49% opposed it. The visit also comes in the wake of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest - and US Congressman Ro Khanna has called for King Charles to meet survivors of the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"As you are aware, this is not solely an American matter," Khanna wrote in a letter to the King on Monday.
Mountbatten-Windsor has never admitted any wrongdoing connected to his connections to Epstein. But while the formal announcement of the state visit might have been delayed, planning seems to have quietly continued in the background, with no signs of the visit being stopped.
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