A final decision on King Charles’s long-planned visit to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence has been repeatedly delayed amid worsening UK–US relations.
Donald Trump’s criticism of Britain’s refusal to join military action against Iran, along with opposition to the visit from the public, senior Labour figures, and former UK ambassador to the US Sir Peter Westmacott, has strained the so-called “special relationship.”
Insiders say that palace officials are currently preparing for the visit, earmarked for three days between 26-28 April, while insisting it has not been confirmed. Ultimately, the government will decide whether to send the monarch, 77, and his wife on a mission to soften up the US president and rekindle relations between the two countries.
State visits are typically announced four to six weeks in advance and confirmation was expected this week or earlier. US officials have already announced plans for Charles to address Congress. Asked about calls to postpone the historic trip, Warren Stephens, the US ambassador to Britain, warned: “I think that would be a very big mistake.”
The King, who Trump considers to be a personal friend, risks seeing the visit overshadowed by his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and arrest over leaking of sensitive documents to him. Royal insiders and commentators believe Charles will use his delicate constitutional position, as the ultimate source of judicial authority in the UK, to avoid meeting women who survived Epstein’s abuse.
Earlier this week, the Democratic congressman Ro Khanna urged the King to meet survivors and members of the House of Representatives oversight committee investigating the scandal. “I think it would be good for the British monarchy to show that kind of introspection and transparency,” he said.
A congressman has called for Sarah Ferguson to speak up about her links to Epstein (Photo: Jordan Pettitt/Pool/AFP)Another Democratic congressman, Suhas Subramanyam, called for Sarah Fergusion to testify to the oversight committee about her “close personal and business ties” to Epstein.
Meeting survivors would imply Andrew’s guilt
Dickie Arbiter, a former palace press secretary, said he could just about imagine the King agreeing to meet survivors privately but thought it unlikely, not least because of Charles’s role as the fount of justice. “He can’t really meet them because that would imply that he thought his brother was guilty,” he said.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor denies any wrongdoing.
Senior royal sources have also stressed the King’s difficulty in discussing the case. Charles and his family have already faced hecklers in Britain, so it is thought unlikely that the state visit programme will be altered to avoid the risk of demonstrators seeking to embarrass him over Andrew and Epstein.
Arbiter, who spent 12 years as a press secretary for Queen Elizabeth, was reluctant to predict whether the visit would go ahead. “It’s a very, very difficult call,” he said. “There are all sorts of problems. The King can’t fix the problems between Starmer and Trump.”
Last year, the monarch’s friendship with the volatile US president was widely said to have helped Britain negotiate better tariff terms with the US than other nations, and also softened Trump’s language about making Canada the 51st state.
“Relations between the UK and America are not what they were a year ago or 10 years ago,” Arbiter said, expressing severe doubts about the prime minister’s ability to repair the damage and the Labour government’s ability to make the right decision and stick to it.
“They flip-flop from one day to the next.”
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