Their arrival in front of the South Portico, the iconic south facade of the White House, is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. local time on Monday, April 27. To kick off their first state visit to American soil since the beginning of their reign, King Charles III and Queen Camilla will be welcomed with great pomp by President Trump and his wife Melania, who celebrated her 56th birthday the day before.
“Keep calm and carry on,” is the message sent by the palace in choosing to maintain this four-day visit, with significant diplomatic stakes, despite recent events. Even though an individual attempted to shoot Donald Trump during the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, Buckingham Palace remains undeterred. The state of the world is such that the warming of relations between the two nations remains a priority, even an urgency. A task that seems impossible for all except His Majesty. When asked by the BBC if this visit could repair transatlantic ties, especially at a time when his relations with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are strained, Trump was emphatic. “Absolutely. He [the king] is fantastic, he is a fantastic man.” The magic of monarchy at work.
Private Tea Time, Presidential Honey, Garden Party, and State Dinner
Upon Charles and Camilla’s arrival at the White House, a tea time will be served in private in the Green Room of the state apartments: the presidential couple and the sovereign couple will first have the opportunity to reunite away from the cameras and microphones of the media. The president’s elusive nature raises anticipation among British journalists accredited for this visit in terms of memorable remarks and striking moments.
Will they serve their tea in a bag, as President Ronald Reagan did in 1981 with Prince Charles? This “protocol error” haunted Reagan so much that he recorded the anecdote in his journal… Surprised that the heir to the throne did not touch his cup, the president wondered where the problem lay. And suddenly he understood the mistake: the tea had been served the American way. The Queen’s son had never been faced with a teabag floating in a cup, so he didn’t know what to do…
After these intimate reunions, the Trumps will guide the Windsors to the south lawn of the White House to discover the brand new presidential beehive. Revealed last week by First Lady Melania Trump, it is a miniature replica of the famous White House. Later in the day, Charles III and Camilla will participate in a garden party organized in their honor, an essential part of British-American diplomacy which, according to the palace, will unite “a wide variety of guests representing the connections between our two countries.”
After Washington, heading to New York and Virginia
In this year marking the 250th anniversary of American independence, the second day of the sovereigns’ visit to the White House on Tuesday, April 28 will start with a military welcome ceremony. After a bilateral meeting between the two men in the Oval Office, King Charles is set to deliver a historic speech before both houses of the American Congress, a first since 1991 and Queen Elizabeth’s speech at the Capitol. The highlight of this sequence in the U.S. capital will be the traditional state dinner, where the toasts’ texts are expected to be as closely studied as the menu.
Their journey will then lead them to New York on Wednesday, April 29, where their engagements will take on a more personal touch. While the sovereign visits an urban farm and learns about a program to improve children’s nutrition, Camilla, a literature enthusiast, will be welcomed at the library in the Big Apple. The royal couple will also take part in commemorations for the 25th anniversary of the September 11 tragedy and attend a reception with the American branch of The King’s Trust, the foundation initiated by the monarch celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
For the final leg of their visit to Virginia on Thursday, April 30, the royal couple will participate in a large American-style neighborhood celebration, emphasizing once again the importance of community and local scale. Charles will also visit a national park to meet professionals and members of a community working to preserve nature and biodiversity in the area. Meanwhile, in a nod to a passion shared with her mother-in-law, Camilla has planned a visit related to horse racing. At the end of this American journey, which seems like a charm offensive, the king will continue his journey solo for a two-day visit to Bermuda, his first as a monarch and head of the Commonwealth.
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