Scrapping King Charles’s anticipated State Visit to the United States would represent a “very big mistake,” according to Warren Stephens, Washington’s ambassador to the UK.
Speaking at the British Chambers of Commerce conference in London on Thursday, the diplomat pushed back against demands to abandon or postpone the royal trip amid ongoing Middle East hostilities.
“I think he will go and I think it will be a very meaningful trip for him,” Mr Stephens remarked during a question-and-answer session following his address.
The ambassador revealed that House Speaker Mike Johnson has extended an invitation for the monarch to deliver a speech before both chambers of Congress during the visit.
US ambassador Warren Stephens has claimed that cancelling the State Visit would be a mistake
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While the overseas tour remains without official confirmation, the King and Queen are anticipated to travel to Washington and New York during April, coinciding with celebrations marking 250 years since American independence.
President Donald Trump announced last week that the visit would proceed, stating the monarch would be arriving “very shortly” and expressing that he was “looking forward” to the occasion.
Downing Street has declined to provide any timeline for when the trip might take place.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman stated: “We’re just not going to comment on something that hasn’t yet been confirmed.”
The cautious response from Downing Street comes despite Mr Trump’s public declarations about the impending royal visit.
President Trump has repeatedly attacked Britain’s response to American requests for backing in the Iran conflict and has criticised Sir Keir Starmer as “no Winston Churchill”.
The State Visit has not been officially announced with Downing Street refusing to comment
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When asked about this comparison, Mr Stephens responded: “Well, that’s a pretty tough comparison for anyone.”
Despite worries that the special relationship has deteriorated, the ambassador expressed confidence about transatlantic ties.
He described the connections between American and British intelligence services, along with military cooperation, as “frankly astounding”.
“Those two things, in addition to the businesses here, make the relationship unbreakable,” Mr Stephens stated.
He acknowledged that while no Nato nation had engaged militarily beyond defensive measures, British intelligence contributions had proved “vital and very useful” to both America and Israel.
The ambassador also echoed President Trump’s criticism of Britain’s plans to move away from fossil fuels.
Mr Stephens argued that UK energy costs were prohibitively expensive for American businesses, adding that British companies shared this concern.
He suggested the country could exert greater control over domestic energy pricing by exploiting its own fossil fuel reserves.
The claimed trip is to take place in April with the King travelling to Washington
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“The solution here is energy addition, not subtraction. In the modern economy, we need all forms of energy on the table, including oil and gas,” the diplomat said.
On bilateral commerce, Mr Stephens admitted his hopes that UK-US trade would increase following Brexit had not materialised.
He identified tariffs on Scotch whisky imports as a “big point of contention,” joking that he “used to be a pretty active consumer” of the spirit and would welcome lower prices.