Ukraine’s
best hope for influencing Trump? King Charles.
The U.S.
president will be lauded with the finest pomp and pageantry Britain has to
offer.
September
17, 2025 4:28 am CET
By Esther
Webber
LONDON —
Ukraine’s allies are trying everything they can to keep Donald Trump onside.
This week, that includes deploying the king of England.
Joined by
first lady Melania Trump, he’ll be the first-ever U.S. president to be formally
welcomed to Windsor Castle, another unprecedented element of an already
paradigm-breaking second state visit for a leader who loves being singular.
They will
be lauded with the finest pomp and pageantry Britain has to offer, replete with
banqueting, honor escorts and a ceremonial flypast of the sort Trump has been
impressed by before — and which serves as a reminder of the long history of
military cooperation between Britain and the U.S.
The hope
is that the royal charm offensive will lay the groundwork for Prime Minister
Keir Starmer and his senior aides to make fresh efforts to persuade Trump he
should apply more pressure to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the quest for
peace in Ukraine.
While it
may not appear on any program for the visit, political and royal aides expect
it will be raised behind the scenes.
A senior
defense official, granted anonymity like others in this piece to speak
candidly, said the king is “very close” to the detail of ceasefire negotiations
and to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy himself.
That
gives the prime minister a weapon many other European leaders don’t have: a
sympathetic monarch who has quietly yet consistently demonstrated his support
for Kyiv — and is willing to do his part to push back on U.S. skepticism toward
the cause.
A royal
ally
The U.S.
president, who so often discards other conventions, has a deep respect and
affection for the royal family, which the state visit is intended to capitalize
on.
As he
departed for Britain, he hailed Charles as “such an elegant gentleman” and
described his second visit as a “great honor.”
He has
been far less reverent toward Zelenskyy, to put it mildly, suggesting at
various points that he bears responsibility for Russia’s invasion of his
country and humiliating him at their infamous meeting in the Oval Office
earlier this year.
At a time
of highly uncertain American support, the Ukrainian leader has found a champion
in the king.
Charles
unexpectedly welcomed Zelenskyy for tea at Sandringham in the aftermath of the
Oval Office debacle, and then for lunch at Windsor Castle just ahead of June’s
NATO summit.
Orysia
Lutsevych, head of the Ukraine program at Chatham House, said the king’s show
of support sent a message “of solidarity and a reminder of who is the victim
and who is the aggressor” amid “distortion and disinformation” by Putin.
A former
senior U.K. diplomat said that while the king does not speak publicly about
matters of government, he is “adept at finding other ways of showing his
views.”
And he
will have plenty of time to do so: The president will stay overnight at Windsor
Castle, where he will be treated to a carriage procession through the estate
and lunch in the state dining room before the main event of the white-tie state
banquet.
“It
wouldn’t be surprising if he took the opportunity privately to encourage the
president to support Ukraine more effectively,” the same former diplomat said.
A royal
aide acknowledged the king’s interest in Ukraine, noting that he called for a
“just and lasting peace” in Ukraine in a message of solidarity to mark the
country’s independence day last month.
The king
may nod to Ukraine during his speech at the state banquet, as he did during
French leader Emmanuel Macron’s recent visit, but otherwise his diplomacy is
likely to take place behind closed doors, bolstered by symbolism throughout the
trip designed to highlight the two countries’ history as wartime allies.
The hard
sell
The
trickier question is whether the king’s overtures will make a difference.
One
government adviser pointed to Trump’s royal reception by King Willem-Alexander
and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, arguing it helped pave the way for a
successful NATO summit, at which he recommitted to the alliance.
Trump
will be joined on the trip by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and envoy Steve
Witkoff, meaning there will also be the chance to influence his top diplomats.
During Vice President JD Vance’s visit to the U.K. in the summer, insiders
reported that both Rubio and Vance had become increasingly engaged with Kyiv’s
point of view.
Charles’
biographer Robert Hardman previously told POLITICO: “In soft power terms, other
world leaders, other countries are far more interested in the monarchy than
they are in Downing Street.”
This
contrast — together with the continuity represented by the monarch — may be at
an even higher premium as Starmer faces questions over his future following
weeks of turmoil inside No. 10.
At the
same time, spurring Trump toward stronger action in support of Ukraine remains
a tough sell. While the president appears to have edged toward a more skeptical
view of Putin, that has not yet translated into a decisive move to punish him.
The
president made clear in a Truth Social post that he expects NATO allies to stop
purchasing Russian oil and place significant tariffs on China for its support
of Russia’s war before the U.S. enacts any additional costs on Russia.
Torrey
Taussig, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic
Council think tank, said that coupled with Trump’s muted response to the
Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace, “this latest positioning does not
give Starmer much room to maneuver.”
Taussig
added that while Trump’s affinity for the royals “may lend weight” to an appeal
from the king on Ukraine, she was “unconvinced” the president would change
course.
If the
U.K.’s main job so far has been attempting to keep Trump in the room for talks
about Ukraine, then the king will at least contribute to that effort — with
grander gestures than most.
Annabelle
Dickson contributed to this report.
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