LONDON (AP) — King Charles III is going ahead with a state visit to the United States despite calls for the ceremonial event to be called off due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repeated criticism of the British government for failing to support the war in Iran.
Buckingham Palace said Tuesday that the king and Queen Camilla would travel to the U.S. in late April to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Trump put the dates as April 27-30.
“I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect,'' Trump said on Truth Social. ”It will be TERRIFIC!”
The visit follows Trump’s state visit to the U.K. in September, a glittering occasion that was seen as part of Britain’s effort to shore up the so-called special relationship between the two countries as the president’s America First policies threatened the established global order.
But that hasn’t stopped Trump from chiding the U.K. for refusing to allow U.S. aircraft to use British bases for offensive operations against Iran. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said that countries who can’t get jet fuel because of restrictions around the Strait of Hormuz should “build up some delayed courage, go the Strait and just TAKE IT.’’
He has repeatedly lashed out at Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying at one point that he is “not Winston Churchill.”
That had led some members of Parliament to demand that Starmer call off the state visit to show Britain’s disapproval and avoid any embarrassment for the king during a time of tension between the two countries.
Ed Davey, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, on Tuesday said Starmer had shown “a staggering lack of backbone” by allowing the state visit to go ahead.
“To send the king on a state visit to the U.S. after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as toys is a humiliation and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies,” Davey said. “What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make the government see sense and cancel the state visit?”
The monarch hosts state visits at home and travels abroad at the request of the elected government, which uses the pomp and circumstance of such occasions to bolster relations with countries around the world. The decision to proceed with the long-discussed visit may be seen as an effort by Starmer’s government to ease the tensions caused by the war, or at least not enflame them.
Trump is known to be fond of the royal family and reveled in last year’s visit to Windsor Castle, where he was welcomed by a military band. The king hosted a banquet for him in a hall dripping with flowers and gold leaf.
The visit came about after Starmer hurried to Washington in February 2025, just five weeks after Trump began his second term, and hand-delivered the king’s invitation to the president.
It was the first time any world leader received the honor of a second state visit, and the first time the invitation was delivered in a personal letter from the king, which Trump proudly displayed for TV cameras.
“It’s a great, great honor,” Trump said at the time, noting that the letter included an invitation to Windsor Castle. “That’s really something.”
Now the king is heading to Washington for the return engagement.
Charles has visited the U.S. 19 times, but this will be his first state visit to the country since becoming king. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made four state visits to the U.S.
The king also will travel to Bermuda in conjunction with the U.S. trip, his first visit to the overseas territory as monarch.
