Source : the age
London: King Charles will meet US President Donald Trump in the next few weeks after deciding to go ahead with a state visit to the United States despite another verbal blast from the White House at the British government.
The King announced the plan after weeks of debate about the wisdom of the visit during the confrontation with Iran, as Trump accuses UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being a weak leader and tells Britain to “get your own oil” from the Persian Gulf.
The state visit was announced soon after Trump launched another tirade against Britain on social media, saying it and other countries should “build up some delayed courage” and go to the Strait of Hormuz to get the oil they needed.
“You’ll have to start learning how to fight for yourself, the U.S.A. won’t be there to help you anymore, just like you weren’t there for us,” he wrote.
“Iran has been, essentially, decimated. The hard part is done. Go get your own oil!”
The state visit sets up an opportunity for the King to calm the dispute between Trump and Starmer, given the president’s high regard for the monarchy.
The coming visit is the King’s first as monarch to the US. He will visit with Queen Camilla in late April, with planned events expected to include an address to Congress, although this is yet to be confirmed. The couple last visited the US on an official tour in 2005 as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
Trump confirmed the visit would take place from April 27 to 30 and would include a banquet at the White House on April 28 to commemorate the founding of the United States in 1776.
“This momentous occasion will be even more special this year, as we commemorate the 250th Anniversary of our Great Country,” Trump posted on social media. “I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!”
After the US, the King will travel to Bermuda for a state visit.
The plan reciprocates the state visit by Trump to the UK last September, when the president enjoyed the high ceremony of a welcome to Windsor Castle and a banquet with guests ranging from tech billionaires to News Corp media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
At the banquet, Trump spoke with effusive praise for the King and said his state visit to the UK – an unprecedented second state visit for a US leader – was one of the highest honours of his life.
The president also described the relationship between the US and UK in glowing terms.
“We’re like two notes in one chord or two verses of the same poem, each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together,” he said.
Relations have soured since then, however, with Trump disparaging Starmer several times since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in February and the UK prime minister declined to send any forces to assist in the attacks.
While Starmer has allowed the US to use British bases for defensive purposes, including hosting US Air Force bombers at the Fairford base in England, Trump has called for active support from the UK for the war.
In one barb, the president said the prime minister was “no Winston Churchill” – a reference to the prime minister who led Britain to victory in the Second World War.
Starmer has pushed back at the criticism without being offensive, while polls suggest a majority of British voters do not want their country to join the war.
“A lot of what is said or done is undoubtedly said and done to put pressure on me – I have no doubt about that, I understand exactly what is going on, but I’m not going to be wavering,” Starmer said on March 23.
“My job is to be absolutely focused on what is in the British national interest.”
British politicians have cautioned against approving the royal visit in light of Trump’s attacks on the UK, with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey saying it should be cancelled.
Dame Emily Thornberry, a Labour politician who chairs the foreign affairs select committee in parliament, said on March 17 it would be “safer to delay” the visit to avoid anything embarrassing for the King and Queen.
Buckingham Palace noted that the visit to the US was decided with the government.
“On advice of His Majesty’s Government, and at the invitation of The President of the United States, The King and Queen will undertake a State Visit to the United States of America,” the palace said in a statement released at 1pm on Tuesday in London (11pm AEDT).
“Their Majesties’ programme will celebrate the historic connections and the modern bilateral relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, marking the 250th anniversary of American Independence.
“The King will then continue to Bermuda to undertake His Majesty’s first Royal Visit as Monarch to a British Overseas Territory.”
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David Crowe is Europe correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
