Can King Charles Help Heal the U.S.-British Rupture?

King Charles III and

Queen Camilla’s U.S. Trip

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U.S.-U.K. Tensions

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Can King Charles Help Heal the U.S.-British Rupture?

Not since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, traveled to Washington after the Suez Crisis has a visit by the British monarch come at such a fraught time in Anglo-American relations.

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King Charles III, center, and President Trump with a Coldstream Guardsman in September at Windsor Castle.

Credit...

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By

Michael D. Shear

Michael Shear reported from London and will be traveling with King Charles III to Washington, New York and Virginia.

April 27, 2026,

12:01 a.m. ET

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Nearly seven decades have passed since a British monarch traveled to the United States in the hope of repairing a relationship damaged by a disastrous military adventure in the Middle East.

In 1957, Queen Elizabeth II charmed President Dwight D. Eisenhower after Britain joined France and Israel in trying to seize back control of the Suez Canal from Egypt. Widely condemned, Britain’s actions caused a domestic political crisis and underscored the country’s status as a second-tier power.

Now, it is her son’s turn at royal diplomacy, this time with the tables turned.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will arrive in Washington on Monday afternoon during Week 8 of President Trump’s war with Iran. This time, Britain’s refusal to take part in what Prime Minister Keir Starmer has characterized as the United States’ latest war of choice has infuriated Mr. Trump, and deeply strained relations between the two governments.

Officially, the king’s four-day visit has nothing to do with that dispute. Government officials say the monarch is above day-to-day politics and does not have a role in policy or commenting on affairs of the state.

Yet there is hope among people inside and outside No. 10 Downing Street that the pomp and pageantry, and some meetings with regular people, might remind Mr. Trump and his advisers how much the two countries have in common as the United States celebrates its 250th birthday this summer.

Even Mr. Trump, who has spent the past several months calling Mr. Starmer a coward and belittling the power of Britain’s naval forces, seems ready to dial down the temperature, at least while playing host to the royals. Asked by the BBC whether the king’s visit would help do that, the president

said

: “Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes.”

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