It will be a definitive moment for King Charles III and the British monarchy. He will not be present on Capitol Hill when the king speaks, but his dark shadow lurks everywhere. Trump will undoubtedly portray Charles’s attendance at a separate White House state banquet as a royal endorsement of his person and policies. And it is precisely this galling prospect of a presidential propaganda coup that has led most people in Britain to oppose the visit. “Mr Speaker, members of Congress: I speak these hard truths not out of anger and animosity, but out of amity.

Source: The Guardian April 12, 2026 10:22 UTC