It is difficult to reconcile the unpredictability of President Donald Trump with the composure and diplomacy that Charles III must show in all circumstances. From April 27 to 30, the sovereign will be across the Atlantic to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Independence of the United States. It took six months – with a war in the Middle East in between – for the advisors of Buckingham Palace and those in Washington to reach an agreement on the program.
The objective? To prevent the American president from going off in public with a caught-off-guard Charles III. Upon arrival, it is during an informal private meeting in the Oval Office that the king and the head of state will meet, around a tea. No spectators will be invited to this legendary room, where President Zelensky had faced the wrath of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance last year in front of cameras worldwide. The sovereign will also be invited to sit under a bust of Winston Churchill, a new piece of decor added by the American president.
Um contexto internacional tenso
For the rest, a rigorous security control will prevent any display of emotion from the guests. As with the garden party in Washington, where the participants will be carefully selected. Before the state banquet planned for the evening of the first day, the highlight of this visit, politically speaking, will be the speech that “His Majesty will give to Congress, during which he will recognize the challenges our countries are facing.” The Queen Elizabeth had done the same in September 1991, during a previous trip.
The next day, they will head to New York to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, a few months in advance. Some engagements, the details of which have not yet been revealed, will focus on the environment, with the visit ending in Virginia on the third day with some public appearances on the program. A delicate journey for the sovereign in a tense context between the United Kingdom and the United States after the sharp criticisms that Donald Trump made against Keir Starmer, the British Prime Minister, at the beginning of the Iran war.
“This visit is an opportunity to reaffirm and renew our bilateral ties as we face these challenges together in the national interest of the United Kingdom,” a spokesperson for the Palace commented. President Trump, on the other hand, is delighted to receive Charles III. On April 15, with Sky News, he describes the sovereign as a “great gentleman.” “I have known him for a long time. He is a great, great person,” he adds. The American billionaire also emphasizes that his tense relationship with Sir Keir “will not overshadow” the royal visit. However, he concludes with a reflection on his disappointment after Britain and other NATO allies did not join the war against Iran “when we needed them.”
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