Can King
Charles Help Heal the U.S.-British Rupture?
Not since
his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to Washington after the Suez Crisis
has a visit by the British monarch come at such a fraught time in
Anglo-American relations.
Michael
D. Shear
By
Michael D. Shear
Michael
Shear reported from London and will be traveling with King Charles III to
Washington, New York and Virginia.
April 27,
2026, 12:01 a.m. ET
Nearly
seven decades have passed since a British monarch traveled to the United States
in the hope of repairing a relationship damaged by a disastrous military
adventure in the Middle East.
In 1957,
Queen Elizabeth II charmed President Dwight D. Eisenhower after Britain joined
France and Israel in trying to seize back control of the Suez Canal from Egypt.
Widely condemned, Britain’s actions caused a domestic political crisis and
underscored the country’s status as a second-tier power.
Now, it
is her son’s turn at royal diplomacy, this time with the tables turned.
King
Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Washington on Monday afternoon
during Week 8 of President Trump’s war with Iran. This time, Britain’s refusal
to take part in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer has characterized as the
United States’ latest war of choice has infuriated Mr. Trump, and deeply
strained relations between the two governments.
Officially,
the king’s four-day visit has nothing to do with that dispute. Government
officials say the monarch is above day-to-day politics and does not have a role
in policy or commenting on affairs of the state.
Yet there
is hope among people inside and outside No. 10 Downing Street that the pomp and
pageantry, and some meetings with regular people, might remind Mr. Trump and
his advisers how much the two countries have in common as the United States
celebrates its 250th birthday this summer.
Even Mr.
Trump, who has spent the past several months calling Mr. Starmer a coward and
belittling the power of Britain’s naval forces, seems ready to dial down the
temperature, at least while playing host to the royals. Asked by the BBC
whether the king’s visit would help do that, the president said: “Absolutely.
He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes.”
The
ceremonial part of the trip will begin as soon as the king and queen touch down
amid heightened security after the shooting Saturday night at the White House
correspondent’s dinner, where Mr. Trump was set to deliver remarks before being
rushed offstage.
The royal
couple will be greeted with a red-carpet ceremony and a garden party — with
tea, of course — held by the British Embassy. On Tuesday, the king will meet
one-on-one with the president in the Oval Office.
That
could be the part of the trip with the biggest political risk. Photographers
are set to capture the two men, seated side by side, but British officials in
charge of logistics said there were no plans for a questions-in-the-Oval moment
— the kind that are common when prime ministers and other heads of government
visit the White House.
Yet those
are just the kinds of political performances that Mr. Trump craves. Could the
president decide to complain about Mr. Starmer with the king sitting next to
him? And what, if anything, might Charles say in response?
Those may
not be idle concerns. This month, Mr. Trump told The Telegraph newspaper in
Britain that he believed the king “would have taken a very different stand” on
the war in Iran than Mr. Starmer, adding: “But he doesn’t do that. I mean, he’s
a great gentleman.” Might the president try to draw the king out on those
purported differences?
The king
could also feel some pressure to respond to the Trump administration’s threats
to withdraw American support for British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands,
an archipelago off the coast of Argentina that is also claimed by the South
American country. A Pentagon report raised the possibility of withdrawing U.S.
backing for Britain as punishment for failing to participate in the attacks on
Iran.
Argentina
views Britain’s rule of the islands as an act of colonial force. Downing Street
noted last week that people living in the Falkland Islands had previously voted
overwhelmingly in favor of remaining a British overseas territory.
Britain’s
news media is bracing for big news. A Daily Mail headline on Saturday said:
“King Flies Into a U.S. Storm Over Falklands.” The Independent wrote: “The King
and Queen Go to America … What’s the Worst That Could Happen?” And the BBC
added: “King’s ‘High Stakes’ Visit With Trump Will Be Toughest Test Yet of His
Reign.”
Ed Davey,
the leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats party, was so concerned about the
potential for diplomatic disaster that he repeatedly urged Mr. Starmer to
cancel the visit.
“I really
fear for what Trump might say or do while our king is forced to stand by his
side,” Mr. Davey told Mr. Starmer during a recent session in Parliament. “We
cannot put His Majesty in that position.”
Mr.
Starmer thanked Mr. Davey for his suggestion, but did not take it, saying that
“what the monarchy is able to do through the bonds that they build is reach
through the decades.”
“The
purpose of the visit,” Mr. Starmer said, “is to mark the 250th anniversary of
the relationship between our country and the United States, and that’s why the
visit is going ahead.”
There
could be other potential moments for awkwardness. There will most likely be
toasts by the two men during the posh state banquet on Tuesday night. Mr.
Trump’s grand ballroom is still under construction, so the gala will be in the
much smaller State Dining room.
As his
mother did in 1991, King Charles is scheduled to deliver an address to a joint
session of Congress, on Tuesday afternoon. Aides said the king would steer
clear of the messy business of the day’s news, and instead focus on the long
sweep of history that binds the two countries.
They said
the king would highlight moments when the United States and Britain had worked
together to make progress in science, innovation, economics and defense. And he
will celebrate what he believes will be a continuing partnership.
It is all
but certain the king will not mention the gossip and scandals that have swirled
around his family for the past several years. Charles has not yet fully
reconciled with his son Harry, who now lives full time in California. The
king’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was recently arrested by the police
on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his ties to
Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
Mr.
Mountbatten-Windsor has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing, but the
revelations about his longstanding friendship with Mr. Epstein and his
accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, have tarnished the monarchy’s image.
Last
week, Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, called on the king to
meet with victims of Mr. Epstein during his visit. Lawyers for the king and
queen said in a letter to Mr. Khanna that because of “ongoing police inquiries”
in Britain, the king was “unable to meet survivors or comment directly on the
matters under inquiry.”
Instead,
the king and his wife hope to present Americans with a refined image: a royal
family dedicated to literacy, the environment, animals, business opportunities
for British companies and support for young people.
In New
York City on Wednesday, the royal couple will lay a wreath at the Sept. 11
memorial in Lower Manhattan, sharing the stage with Mayor Zohran Mamdani; the
city’s former mayor Michael Bloomberg; and other officials. Charles will also
visit a program in Harlem that mentors children and young people affected by
food insecurities through sustainable urban farming.
To
support literacy, the queen will celebrate Winnie the Pooh’s 100th birthday at
the New York Public Library.
The
couple will spend their final day in the United States in Virginia. They will
lay a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery, and then the king will attend a
“block party” celebrating the country’s 250th anniversary and visit with
members of Indigenous communities and people involved in conservation
initiatives at a national park.
The queen
will visit a farm highlighting the horse racing industry.
If all
goes as Buckingham Palace hopes, the visit will help strengthen the bonds
between two countries despite the chill in relations.
In 1957,
the queen’s visit did just that. In a toast to Queen Elizabeth II during a
state dinner at the White House, Mr. Eisenhower talked about his deep respect
for the British people and the royal family.
“I want
to make a toast to the queen,” he said. “I want again to say that my faith in
the future of these two great countries and the whole Commonwealth of the
British nations, indeed of the whole free world, is absolutely unimpeachable.”
Michael
D. Shear is the chief U.K. correspondent for The New York Times, covering
British politics and culture and diplomacy around the world.
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