King Charles III will deliver a landmark address to the United States Congress during his first state visit to the United States as monarch later this month, according to Buckingham Palace.
The king will travel to Washington from April 27 alongside Queen Camilla for a four-day state visit designed to celebrate the historic relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.
Royal officials said the visit will highlight the “shared history of our two nations” while also recognising the breadth of modern cooperation and deep people-to-people connections between both countries.
During the trip, Charles is expected to address lawmakers from both chambers of Congress — an event announced by Mike Johnson — with the speech scheduled for April 28. It will mark the first time a British monarch has spoken to Congress since Elizabeth II addressed the chamber in 1991 shortly after the Gulf War.
While in Washington, the royal couple will also meet Donald Trump and Melania Trump for tea at the White House, attend a state dinner and take part in a ceremonial military review.
Trump welcomed the upcoming visit in a post on his Truth Social platform, calling it “TERRIFIC”.
The trip will proceed despite calls from some British politicians to postpone the visit amid disagreements between Trump and Keir Starmer over the ongoing conflict involving Iran.
Starmer defended the visit on Monday, describing it as “very important” and emphasising that relationships built through the monarchy can endure even during moments of political tension.
However, the visit also comes as the royal family faces scrutiny over the king’s brother, Prince Andrew, who is under investigation by UK police over his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
A US lawmaker and relatives of Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre have urged the king to meet survivors of Epstein’s crimes during his visit. But a palace source told the Press Association such a meeting would not be possible due to the risk it could affect ongoing police inquiries.
Following the Washington leg of the trip, Charles and Camilla will travel to New York City, where they will meet first responders and families of victims of the September 11 attacks.
The king will also meet business leaders and attend a reception highlighting cultural links between the two nations and the work of The King’s Trust, which supports vulnerable young people.
The royal couple will then continue to Virginia, where some of the earliest English colonies were established. There, they will attend a street block party marking the anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.
The visit will conclude with Charles’s first trip as monarch to Bermuda on May 1. The last royal visit to the island territory was by Queen Elizabeth II in 2009.
