King Charles arrives in US for first state visit as monarch

Ellen Milligan, Bloomberg News on Apr 27, 2026

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WASHINGTON — King Charles III has arrived in the United States for a visit fraught with doubts about the future of Britain’s so-called special relationship with America and fresh security concerns in the wake of the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner.

The British monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, landed at Joint Base Andrews on Monday at the start of a four-day trip, his first state visit to the U.S. since becoming king in 2022. While the long-planned event is intended to mark the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence from Britain, its diplomatic mission has taken on new urgency amid President Donald Trump’s recent feud with Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the United Kingdom’s limited support for U.S. military action against Iran.

The U.K. has decided to go ahead with the visit despite the shooting at the hotel that hosted the annual gathering of Washington media and political elites on Saturday. Trump said Sunday that the king would be “very safe” during a program that includes a military review at the White House and a speech to a joint session of Congress.

“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,” Buckingham Palace said Sunday. It’s the first state visit by a British monarch since Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, made the trip in 2007. The late queen similarly addressed Congress in 1991.

Trump and first lady Melania Trump will greet the royal couple at the South Portico of the White House later Monday. They will share afternoon tea together and tour an expanded beehive at the president’s official residence, before the king and queen depart for a garden party at the British ambassador’s residence.

The visit comes at a fraught time for U.K.-U.S. relations, which are perhaps at their lowest point since the Suez Crisis in the 1950s. While Trump has only heaped praise on Charles, he’s repeatedly criticized Starmer, dismissing the U.K.’s elected prime minister as weak and unreliable.

Trump and Charles will meet on Tuesday, with the king expected to stress the importance of the deep and enduring relationship between the two allies. After two days in Washington, the king and queen will travel to New York to commemorate the Sept. 11 attacks, visit a community organization mentoring children affected by food insecurity and an event with senior business leaders.

The pair will then travel to Virginia for a block party and visit a national park before departing to Bermuda, a British overseas territory.