King Charles III will make his first state visit to the United States from April 27–30, Buckingham Palace announced Tuesday, despite calls from some quarters to cancel or delay the trip amid tensions over the ongoing Iran war.
The visit comes at a sensitive time for the US-UK “special relationship,” with former US President Donald Trump repeatedly criticising UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s stance on the US-Israel conflict with Tehran.
Trump, whose mother was Scottish and a long-time admirer of the British monarchy, welcomed news of the visit as “TERRIFIC.” Posting on his Truth Social platform, he said the visit would include “a beautiful Banquet Dinner at the White House on the evening of April 28th.”
“I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!” Trump added.
Following the US trip, the monarch is scheduled to visit Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory, as the US celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence.
Washington’s envoy to Britain, Warren Stephens, last week warned that cancelling the visit would be a “big mistake.”
Trump has publicly criticised Starmer since the start of the conflict, claiming the UK prime minister has not done enough to support US efforts.
“This is not Winston Churchill that we’re dealing with,” Trump said earlier this month, after Starmer initially refused to allow US warplanes to use UK bases for operations against Iran. He also criticised UK troop involvement in Afghanistan.
The visit will mark King Charles’s first trip to the US as monarch, following his hosting of Trump in September 2025 for a lavish state visit to the UK, which included military parades and a flyover at Windsor Castle.
Public opinion in Britain appears divided. A YouGov poll published Thursday found nearly half of British citizens oppose the king’s US visit, while only a third support it.
Senior Labour MP Emily Thornberry suggested it would be “safer to delay” the trip, warning that the king and Queen Consort Camilla could face embarrassment amid the ongoing conflict.
Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, questioned the timing, asking, “Why are we rewarding Donald Trump with a state visit from our king?”
The last British monarch to make a state visit to the US was Queen Elizabeth II in 2007, the fourth of her reign, which included an address to Congress in 1991.
Observers note that royal visits serve as a form of soft power diplomacy. King Charles played a role in facilitating Starmer’s visit to the White House last year by personally signing a letter inviting Trump to the UK, which the prime minister delivered in the Oval Office. Trump read the invitation publicly, calling the king “a beautiful man, a wonderful man.”
