By Michael Holden and Suzanne Plunkett
LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - King Charles will have tea and a private meeting with President Donald Trump during his U.S. state visit later this month, as the British government hopes his "soft power" can heal a damaging rift between the allies caused by the Iran war.
The monarch and his wife Queen Camilla head across the Atlantic on April 27, a four-day trip ostensibly to mark the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence from Britain but one that now has far greater
significance amid a growing spat between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"The visit ... recognises the challenges the United Kingdom, the United States, and our allies face across the world," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Tuesday. "This visit is a moment to reaffirm and renew our bilateral ties as we address those challenges together, in the UK's national interest."
STATE DINNER
Unveiling details of the trip, the spokesperson said Trump and first lady Melania Trump would greet the king and queen in Washington with a private tea, followed by a ceremonial welcome at the White House, a state dinner, and a meeting between the monarch and president.
As previously announced, the king will also address Congress, becoming just the second British monarch to do so following his mother Queen Elizabeth in 1991. The royal couple will later visit New York where they will meet families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The U.S. leg of their tour ends with a visit to Virginia, before Charles heads off to Bermuda, a British overseas territory where he is the head of state.
Amid the pomp of a royal state visit, the British government hopes the trip will demonstrate the value of what a foreign office spokesperson called "the closest of friendships".
That characterisation has come under strain since the U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran in late February, with Trump frequently singling out Britain and Starmer personally for failing to provide active support for the offensive.
He has dismissed Starmer as "not Winston Churchill" and Britain's aircraft carriers as "toys", although the president's affection for Charles and the British royals has remained unwavering.
Opinion polls show Trump is deeply unpopular in Britain, and some politicians have said the visit should be called off.
"(Trump) is a dangerous and corrupt gangster, and that is how we must treat him," Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrat party, said in parliament on Monday.
"I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his side. We cannot put His Majesty in that position."
In response, Starmer, who has sought to distance himself from the war but also avoid any direct rebuke of the president, reiterated the importance of the two countries' ties.
"The monarchy, through the bonds that it builds, is often able to reach through the decades on a situation like this," Starmer said.
One issue neither Trump nor the king will want to overshadow the visit is discussion about Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles' brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing police scrutiny over his ties to the late disgraced U.S. financier while Melania Trump gave an extraordinary address last week to deny that she had had any relationship with Epstein.
Some U.S. lawmakers have said the king should meet with Epstein's victims, but notwithstanding Camilla's longtime support for causes which seek to end sexual and domestic violence, a palace source said this would not be possible because it might impact on potential criminal action.
"We fully understand and appreciate the survivors' position," the source said.
"Even though the risk may be small that a meeting or any public comments could impact on those inquiries, or the proper course of the law, that is a risk that we simply can't take, for the best interest for the survivors themselves."
(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
