King Charles III and Queen Camilla are making their first state visit to the United States on Monday, to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Despite the attack at the correspondents' gala, the visit "will go ahead as planned," according to Buckingham. In the midst of diplomatic tension, the British sovereign is due to give a speech to the American Congress on Tuesday.

Published on: 04/27/2026 - 04:54 Modified on: 04/27/2026 - 22:23

A scrutinized state visit. King Charles III and Queen Camilla begin a visit to Washington on Monday April 27 in a very unusual context: just after an attack during a gala attended by Donald Trump, and in the midst of diplomatic tension around the conflict in Iran.

The state visit, April 27-30, is scheduled to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. It “will take place as planned,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Sunday, a few hours after an armed assailant tried to force entry to a dinner in the presence of the American president.

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This confirmation of the trip delighted the Republican leader, fascinated by the monarchical pomp, as generous in compliments for the monarch as he was lavish in criticism of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“He’s a great guy,” Donald Trump said of the king in an interview with Fox News on Sunday. He “is very courageous”, he judged about the sovereign, treated for cancer, “he represents his country like no one else can.”

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Charles III said he was "very relieved" to learn that Donald Trump had emerged "safe and sound" after the shots fired during the annual Correspondents' Dinner at the White House, outside the room where the president was standing with thousands of other guests.

The British Ambassador to the United States, Christian Turner, spoke on Sunday of the American president's "tremendous enthusiasm" for this visit, with which Donald Trump also returns the courtesy after being received with pomp in the United Kingdom last year.

A speech to the US Congress scheduled for Tuesday

The program calls for the president and his wife Melania Trump to receive their guests on Monday for tea, then a tour of the White House hives.

Tuesday, the most formal day of the trip will begin with a military welcome ceremony.

Donald Trump and Charles III will have a meeting in the Oval Office, while their wives will participate in an event dedicated to education and artificial intelligence.

The same day, the British sovereign should take advantage of a speech before the American Congress – the first of its kind since Elizabeth II in 1991 – to put the current diplomatic tension into perspective by invoking the relationship of two and a half centuries, with its ups and downs, between the United Kingdom and its former colony turned superpower.

The two couples will meet in the evening for a gala dinner in a fairly small group in a reception room of the White House, instead of the large pavilion generally set up in the gardens for this type of occasion.

Donald Trump hates this temporary structure. He wants to replace it with a monumental ballroom, work on which is in full swing and which he will certainly be tempted to mention to his guests.

Several sources of tension

After a trip to New York on Wednesday, the king and queen will visit the memorial to the September 11 attacks. They will see Melania and Donald Trump one last time on Thursday, before their return trip.

Charles III will want to do everything to prevent the tension between London and Washington from producing a discordant note in this well-regulated pomp.

The exercise will not be easy. Charles III must avoid fueling strong criticism in the United Kingdom over this unpopular trip, and above all not give the image of a humiliating enterprise aimed at softening the unpredictable American president.

However, the monarch also has the implicit mission of coaxing Donald Trump, certainly personally well disposed towards him, but exasperated by the reservations of the British authorities regarding the war in Iran, among other subjects of discord.

In addition to attacking Keir Starmer, the American president shook up the transatlantic “special relationship” by attacking the British army and navy. He also downplayed the toll paid by the British when they fought alongside the Americans in Afghanistan.

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The trip will have another explosive subject in the background: the Epstein affair and the past friendship of the king's brother, Andrew, with the late child molester. Commentators will be watching for any allusion, even the most subtle, to this affair which will continue to shake the British monarchy during the four days that the royal couple will spend on American soil.

With AFP

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