King Charles jets to US for trip overshadowed by Iran quarrel and shooting
LONDON/WASHINGTON: Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in the United States later on Monday for a four-day trip, a tour which has taken on even greater prominence after the White House Correspondents’ dinner shooting and amid acrimony between the close allies.
The state visit, by far the most high-profile and consequential of Charles’s reign, marks the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence from British rule, and is the first to the country by a British monarch for two decades.
It begins with a private meeting with self-proclaimed royal fan President Donald Trump, and includes an address to Congress and a lavish dinner at the White House.
Press dinner shooting just days before visit
But the long-planned trip has become enmeshed in the political spat between the two countries over the US-Israeli war on Iran, which led Trump to voice deep displeasure with the British government for failing to support the offensive.
The shooting on Saturday at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, with the president and officials in his administration the likely targets according to the US acting attorney general, has cast a further pall over the visit.
Buckingham Palace said the trip would still go ahead as planned following discussions between British and US authorities to determine if the incident would impact on the royals’ plans.
“The king and queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the visit getting underway tomorrow,” a palace spokesperson said on Sunday.
