The preparations for King Charles III’s state visit to the US are in full splendour, filled with pomp and pageantry, dignitaries and decorations – it’s just a shame they look like they’re for someone else.
For on arrival at the White House on Monday, the King might have been royally bemused to note that some of the flags hoisted in his honour weren’t actually British at all – but Australian.
The blunder happened on Friday, when hundreds of national banners were installed across the capital to welcome the King and Queen Camilla, who are making a four-day state visit to Washington, New York and Virginia to mark 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Yet 15 Australian flags were used to line the black lampposts leading up to the White House and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, due to an apparent mix-up owing to the similarities between the designs. The error was “quickly corrected”, a DC Department of Transportation official said on Friday.
Now, you might be able to explain away the gaffe. Charles is the head of the Commonwealth, after all; he’s head of state in the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. His face appears on Australian coins, he has visited the country 17 times, and even lived there for six months as a teenager. And look, there’s a Union Flag on the Aussie one. Easy mistake to make.
But given how much the UK Government is hoping the state visit will heal the rift between the US and the UK – and between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer – the slip-up serves as a pretty good summation of how much attention America as a whole is paying. Namely: not a lot.
There’s a lot at stake. It is vital this trip goes well after a tense two months in which the so-called “special relationship” between the US and UK has soured significantly, due to Britain refusing to be directly involved in the war in Iran (Trump even branded Starmer “no Winston Churchill”). The King’s visit to the States is widely regarded as an attempt to shore up Britain’s status as America’s ally and friend. The kind of friend you keep close, very close, because you have to. It’s too dangerous not to.
It’s a clever move, for we know that flattery and sycophancy – particularly when it involves the Royal Family – is Trump’s weak spot. We all saw the way the US President was left visibly preening after Starmer presented him with the King’s personal invitation to an unprecedented second state visit to the UK at the White House last year.
And when Trump got to Britain, he lapped up the personal, family greeting outside Victoria House when he arrived; crowed the entire way through a state banquet beside William and Kate; and basked as a Beating Retreat, featuring 200 military musicians, was performed for him, before a flypast of the Red Arrows – the first time they’ve ever been used for a state visit.
We went big to welcome Trump here, and now we’re sending the King to him – despite a lot of resistance among ordinary Brits to the idea. The Lib Dems tabled a motion in Parliament to stop it; YouGov found last month that 49 per cent of us were against the trip, with 33 per cent in favour.
Yet if the King’s visit is supposed to reach beyond the White House and remind everyday Americans what we have in common, it is taking some time to filter through.
In a new Daily Mail/JL Partners poll, 53 per cent of Americans said they’d heard “nothing at all” about the royal visit. Another 31 per cent said they’d heard “a little”. That’s 84 per cent of the US not really noticing that this thing we’ve put the house on is even happening. When it comes to playing your biggest soft-power card, it’s not exactly the reception you’d hope for.
So, this gaffe, now, when relations between our two nations are at perhaps their lowest ebb in 70 years, feels – accidental as it may be – like a power move.
Britain is sharply divided as to whether the King should be meeting Trump and touring the US, worried our honour and dignity is being traduced. The US, meanwhile, can’t even remember what our flag looks like. And, in the end, what we’re left with is the message that there’s only “king” who matters in Washington – and his name is Donald Trump.
Hence then, the article about the mistake that exposed what america really thinks of charles s visit was published today ( ) and is available on inews ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( The mistake that exposed what America really thinks of Charles’s visit )
Also on site :
- Nicolas Cage's 'Spider-Noir' Premieres May 27 With Dual-Format Viewing - Check Out the Official Trailer!
- What’s known about the man charged with attempting to assassinate President Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner
- ‘Don’t know why, but I recognized the sound as gunshots. Then I saw President Trump swarmed and a sight that really shook me’