King Charles III is heading to the US for a history-soaked visit that's already stirring present-day politics. Buckingham Palace says the king and Queen Camilla will spend four days in the country starting April 27, marking 250 years since US independence with events in Washington, New York, and Virginia, per the New York Times. The trip includes a White House state dinner and a rare address to a joint meeting of Congress—only the second time a British monarch has done so, after Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. The king will also meet privately with President Trump, per CNN.
The carefully planned visit lands amid tense US-UK relations. Trump has publicly derided British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the UK's refusal to join a US war against Iran, prompting some British politicians to urge the palace to scrap the trip. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey labeled Trump "a dangerous and corrupt gangster" in Parliament on Monday and warned against putting the king beside him. Starmer called Trump's Iran rhetoric "wrong" but defended the visit as a chance to reinforce long-running ties.
The family of the late Virginia Giuffre are among those calling for the king and queen to meet with victims of Jeffrey Epstein during the visit. That won't happen, the BBC reports, though Queen Camilla will reportedly meet with groups campaigning against domestic abuse and violence against women. The royals are also scheduled to meet with 9/11 families and business leaders in New York and join cultural events alongside Native Americans in Virginia before continuing on to Bermuda, for the king's first visit to a British overseas territory as monarch.
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