King Charles’s State Visit will not be smooth sailing as he navigates Donald Trump’s unpredictability

Meanwhile, it has reportedly been suggested the United States is reviewing its position of Britain’s sovereignty of the Falkland Islands as punishment for Sir Keir Starmer’s decision not to allow U.S. military assets to use UK bases ahead of the U.S. attack on Tehran.

255 British Armed Forces personnel were killed during the 74-day Falklands War in 1982, as Argentina attempted to invade the British Overseas Territory.

King Charles is head of the Armed Forces, and will be well aware of the sacrifices made.

British citizens are split on whether King Charles should travel to the U.S. for a State Visit according to the lates Ipsos polling.

The polling also showed almost half (48%) of Britons disagree that there is currently a special relationship between the U.S. and Britain, up fifteen percentage points from January.

It is understood the phrase special relationship has actually not been used by British officials in Washington for more than two decades, but sources insist diplomatic, economic and security ties remain as strong as ever before.

This is why the British government believes it is to the UK’s best interest to press ahead with the State Visit to utilise the King’s soft power to highlight and strengthen these ties.

The British Ambassador to the UK, Christian Turner, tells us that the partnership between the United Kingdom and the United States “stretches far beyond the governments of the day. It is foundations of shared history, shared sacrifice, common values and friendship.”

| GETTY

In other words, it doesn’t matter who occupies the White House or 10 Downing Street; the primary purpose of the visit is to commemorate 250 years of American independence with a King who stays firmly above politics.

It is His Majesty’s job to use his soft power to highlight the very best of what our two nations share: whether it’s billion-dollar investments, trade agreements, defence and intelligence ties (dating back decades before the Iran war began) or our shared culture and values.

British sources in Washington have suggested President Trump leads a far more anglophile administration than President Biden ever did.

This is something Sir Keir Starmer will want to capitalise on, and President Trump adores the Royal Family, describing King Charles as a “friend”.

It is understood the President was keen to host King Charles was his first State Visit of his second term in office.

However, it is not going to be smooth sailing for King Charles as he navigates Trump’s unpredictability.

In fact, this could be the biggest diplomatic test of His Majesty’s reign to date.

| PA

In addition to the diplomatic sensitivities, another dangerous headache lurks in the wings.

The family of the woman who accused King Charles’ brother of having sex with her on three separate occasions when she was 17 have renewed their calls for the King to meet with them in Washington.

Virginia Giuffre, who took her own life last year, previously settled out of court with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in a civil lawsuit.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing, and previously claimed he had never met Ms Giuffre.

Her brother, Sky Roberts, has “strongly” urged The King to meet with them and other survivors of paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

He told the BBC: “We need the King of England to stand up and show his unity with survivors.”

“We will be 10 minutes from him. We will be lobbying that same day in the same buildings that he will be entering in and out of.”

“And all we ask is for a 10-minute meeting with the King to show him that we’re real people, with real feelings.”

The King is due to address a joint meeting of US Congress, but sources close to His Majesty insist he is unable to meet survivors due to the dangers of prejudicing any future criminal proceedings.

Democrat Congressman Ro Khanna, who has also urged The King to meet with survivors, has rejected this argument.

None the less, there are no current plans for the King to meet with them.

This, of course, does have the danger to overshadow the visit – especially if protests start erupting outside the US Capitol.

However, King Charles has the ability to skillfully find the right words, and I predict he will nod to survivors of abuse during his Congress or State Dinner speeches.

I also understand Queen Camilla, who has spent decades supporting survivors of sexual abuse, plans to meet organisations supporting survivors more broadly.

Meanwhile, security during engagements is expected to be extremely tight following the attempted assassination of senior Trump administration officials over the weekend.

Palace, UK Government and White House officials were discussing security arrangements overnight into Sunday, before making the decision that the State Visit should go ahead as planned – with a few operational adjustments.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of Government, we can confirm the State Visit by Their Majesties will proceed as planned.”

“The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the Visit getting underway tomorrow.”

The phrase I’m hearing from royal sources is “keep calm and carry on”.

It appears King Charles is determined to do his duty and celebrate Britain’s ties to one of the most powerful nations on the planet.