KING CHARLES will visit the United States in late April, Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday, despite some calls for the trip to be cancelled or delayed amid strains over the Iran war.
The confirmation of the monarch's first state visit to the US comes at a time of strain in the US-UK "special relationship", with US president Donald Trump criticising prime minister Keir Starmer's stance over the US-Israel war against Tehran.
Trump welcomed news of the visit as "TERRIFIC".
The US president posted on his Truth Social platform that the trip would take place on April 27-30 and include a "beautiful Banquet Dinner at the White House on the evening of April 28th".
"I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!" he added.
The visit will coincide with the US marking its 250th anniversary of independence and will be followed by an official visit by the king to Bermuda, a British Overseas Territory.
Washington's envoy to Britain, Warren Stephens, said last week it would be a "big mistake" for the US visit to be cancelled.
Trump has criticised Starmer since the start of the war, accusing him of not doing enough to support the US.
"This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," Trump said earlier this month, after Starmer initially declined to let US warplanes fly from UK bases to strike Iran.
"I'm disappointed with Keir," Trump has also said, calling Starmer's move a "big mistake".
Trump also drew criticism with remarks about UK troops' participation in Afghanistan.
The visit will be Charles's first trip to the US as king, after he hosted Trump for a state visit last September.
The US president has expressed admiration for Britain's royal family, which hosted him for a state dinner at Windsor Castle, along with military parades and a flyover during last year's visit.
It will be a second state visit for Trump, who was also hosted in 2019 by Queen Elizabeth II before her death.
In recent remarks aimed at Starmer's government, Trump said countries like Britain should secure the Strait of Hormuz themselves because "the USA won't be there to help you anymore, just like you weren't there for us".
A YouGov poll published on Thursday found nearly half of British citizens opposed the king's visit to the US, while about a third said it should go ahead.
Emily Thornberry, a senior MP in Starmer's Labour party, said earlier this month it would be "safer to delay" the trip.
She said Charles and Camilla could be left feeling "embarrassed" because of the conflict.
"Why are we rewarding Donald Trump with a state visit from our king?" asked Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats.
The last British monarch to make a state visit to the US was Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
That visit was the last of four made by the late queen, whose visit in 1991 included an address to Congress.
The royal family's role in diplomacy is seen as a way of engaging with Trump.
Charles had earlier supported Starmer's visit to the White House by signing a letter inviting Trump to visit the UK, which the prime minister handed to the president in the Oval Office.
In front of television cameras, Trump read the invitation and said the king was "a beautiful man, a wonderful man".
(With inputs from agencies)
