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April 28, 2026, 12:28 p.m. ET
Live Updates: King Charles Saluted as Guest of Honor at the White House
The second day of a state visit by the monarch includes a cannon salute, a private Oval Office meeting with President Trump and a White House banquet. The trip is intended in part to repair strained U.S.-British ties.
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Updated
April 28, 2026, 11:32 a.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
and
Max Bearak
Michael D. Shear and Zolan Kanno-Youngs reported from Washington.
Here’s the latest.
Two hundred and fifty years after America declared independence from England, King Charles III, the British monarch, was feted with a 21-gun salute on Tuesday at the White House, where he took part in a ceremony known as reviewing the troops, the highest diplomatic honor that can be extended by the United States to a visiting head of state.
Charles’s visit comes at a time of deep bilateral tension on issues including tariffs and the war in Iran. The king is scheduled to meet privately with President Trump in the Oval Office on Tuesday for what British officials hope will be a moment of unity. Later, the king will address a joint session of Congress, becoming only the second British monarch to do so, after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991.
In prepared remarks to officials from both countries, as well as hundreds of spectators, Mr. Trump largely stuck to a script. He praised the Anglo-American relationship in lofty terms, describing it as having birthed a “revolution in human freedom” that was “never, ever extinguished, but carried forward across centuries, across oceans and across history, until it became a fire that lit the entire world.”
The king’s message to Congress —
describing a history
of “reconciliation and renewal” between the United States and Britain — is intended to advance his government’s priorities without pulling him into the dispute between Mr. Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran war.
On Tuesday evening, the king and Queen Camilla will attend a banquet in the White House’s State Dining Room. It follows a similar dinner that
the king hosted for Mr. Trump
at Windsor Castle in September.
The royal couple will leave Washington on Wednesday for events in New York City, including a morning visit to the Sept. 11 memorial and a celebrity-filled gala in the evening. They will conclude the trip on Thursday with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery and several stops elsewhere in Virginia.
Here’s what else to know:
Tight security:
Days after a gunman breached security in an attack on a gala dinner in Washington attended by Mr. Trump, measures for the state visit include both
highly visible and unseen layers of Secret Service protection
.
Visuals only:
British officials have been eager to avoid an awkward public moment in which Mr. Trump might belittle Mr. Starmer with the king at his side. As a result, there was only a brief photo opportunity before their meeting on Tuesday, with no chance for reporters to yell questions.
Returning the favor:
At September’s Windsor Castle banquet, Mr. Trump called the invitation “one of the highest honors of my life.” In his toast, the president added that Charles had for decades “epitomized the fortitude, nobility and the spirit of the British monarchy and the British people.”
Beyond Washington:
British officials said the four-day royal trip was planned to allow the king and queen to also spend time outside the nation’s capital. In New York, the king will meet with young people in Harlem, while the queen tours a Winnie the Pooh exhibit at the New York Public Library. In Virginia, the king will attend a “block party” near the Shenandoah mountains, and the queen will visit a farm dedicated to the horse racing industry.
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April 28, 2026, 12:28 p.m. ET
Stephen Castle
Reporting from London
The king’s visit comes amid foreign policy disagreements with the United States.
Image
King Charles III and Queen Camilla of Britain arrived on Monday at the White House, where they were greeted by President Trump and Melania Trump.
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
King Charles III’s state visit, timed to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence, aims to celebrate the strong ties between Britain and the United States. But his trip may double as an unofficial diplomatic mission, amid disagreements that have left Anglo-American relations at their most strained over foreign policy in decades.
So annoyed is President Trump about Britain’s failure to offer full support for his war against Iran that his administration, according to a memo drafted at the Pentagon, is considering whether to stop supporting British sovereignty
over the Falkland Islands
, which are also claimed by Argentina.
Mr. Trump has directed his anger at the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, who refused to allow British bases to be used in the initial U.S. attack on Iran and who, in the president’s words, is “no Winston Churchill.”
Eager to placate the United States, which is Britain’s closest security partner, the government in London is seeking to coordinate international efforts to reopen the
Strait of Hormuz
, the crucial shipping lane in the Persian Gulf, if a cease-fire with Iran becomes permanent. Yvette Cooper, Britain’s foreign secretary, is accompanying the king to the United States and is expected to meet with her counterpart, Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trans-Atlantic tensions have already forced Britain to suspend plans to give up sovereignty of — and then lease back — the
Chagos Islands
, a remote Indian Ocean archipelago that houses a strategically important British and American military base.
Although Mr. Trump at one point supported the British plan, he changed tack after disagreeing with Britain over American ambitions to take control of Greenland, and called the Chagos idea an
“act of great stupidity
.” The British government recently acknowledged that it could not proceed without Washington’s backing.
Mr. Trump, who has a strong affection for the British monarchy, told The Telegraph newspaper in Britain — without providing evidence — that he believed the king
“would have taken a very different stand”
on the Iran war than Mr. Starmer.
But the president has also mocked British warships as “toys,” has said the British “don’t even have a navy” and has added that their aircraft carriers “didn’t work.”
Such criticism could be uncomfortable for King Charles, who, as monarch, is commander in chief of the British military. He also served in the Royal Navy in his 20s.
In January, when Mr. Trump said that the United States had
“never needed”
its NATO allies in Afghanistan and that alliance troops had “stayed a little back, little off the front lines,” the comments infuriated Britain, which lost 457 soldiers during two decades of fighting in Afghanistan. At the time, the British news media reported that Buckingham Palace had relayed the king’s concerns over the comments to the White House. Mr. Trump later issued a clarification.
Further straining the U.S.-British relationship has been the issue of
support for Ukraine
in its war against Russia. The king has
met with and hosted
the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, several times, underscoring Britain’s full support for a government in Kyiv that has increasingly been sidelined by the Trump administration.
And Mr. Trump’s musings about increasing his country’s landmass also clash with British interests. The president’s threats about taking over Greenland, a self-governing territory of NATO member Denmark, prompted
Mr. Starmer
to speak out alongside other European leaders. Mr. Trump’s suggestion that the United States absorb Canada, a country over which Charles
is the sovereign
, was followed by a
carefully timed visit
by the king, with Prime Minister Mark Carney stating: “Canada has a steadfast defender in our sovereign.”
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April 28, 2026, 12:12 p.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
King Charles and President Trump are meeting together at the White House ahead of the king’s trip to Capitol Hill, where he will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress later this afternoon.
April 28, 2026, 11:29 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump pumps his fist from the South Portico as military jets perform an official flyover. Charles stood next to him watching the demonstration. The two have now left the ceremony and entered the White House.
Image
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 11:29 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump, the first lady, Charles and Camilla have exited the stage. Trump and the king are now observing the ceremony from the South Portico. In a rarity, Trump appeared to stick to his speech during the ceremony. It was a mix of sentimental reflections on what the royals meant to his family, light-hearted jokes and a bit of the shared history between the U.S. and Britain.
April 28, 2026, 11:16 a.m. ET
Shawn McCreesh
White House reporter
Trump talked about how his mother was married to his father for 63 years. Then he stopped, turned around and told a joke to a smiling Melania: “That’s not a record we’re going to be able to match, darling. I’m sorry, just not going to work out that way.”
Image
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 11:15 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump notes that his mother was born in Scotland. “My mother, I just see it so clearly, she loved” the royal family, he says, adding that she had a crush on a young Charles. “I wonder what she’s thinking right now,” he says.
Video
April 28, 2026, 11:14 a.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
This is President Trump on good behavior, not belittling the British government, but paying tribute to the history that binds both countries. He said: “Before Americans had a nation or a constitution, we first had a culture, a character and a creed. Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts —
moral courage — and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea.”
April 28, 2026, 11:13 a.m. ET
Shawn McCreesh
White House reporter
Trump is sticking closely to his speech, which has all sorts of historical references dating back to the Magna Carta. He just said that “fate drew a long arc from the meadow of Runnymede to the streets of Philadelphia.”
Image
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 11:12 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
After commending Charles’s “beautiful accent,” Trump detailed a rosy telling of the shared history between the United States and Britain. The first lady and Queen Camilla are both seated to Trump’s right. He then praised Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’s mother. Trump is showing his admiration for the royal family and the pomp that comes with their presence.
April 28, 2026, 11:07 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump has started speaking. “What a beautiful British day this is,” he says at the start of his remarks, referring to the gray, rainy weather.
April 28, 2026, 11:06 a.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
President Trump and King Charles just reviewed the troops, walking along the grass in front of the line of soldiers. The military presentation is the highest diplomatic honor that can be extended by the United States to a visiting head of state.
Image
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
Video
April 28, 2026, 11:05 a.m. ET
Vanessa Friedman
The hat is back! After eschewing headwear yesterday to greet King Charles and Queen Camilla as they arrived for tea at the White House, Melania Trump once again covered up for today’s more formal greeting ceremony. She is wearing a straw boater by the milliner Eric Javits, who also made her
inauguration hat
(The styles are very similar.), along with a custom-made white suit from Ralph Lauren Collection.
The hat could be a nod to British tradition — the first lady also wore a hat on
the Trumps’ state visit to Britain
last year — but it has become something of a signature for her, providing both decoration and a sort of protective personal barrier during major public events. Queen Camilla likewise wore a jaunty white hat and light colored coatdress
.
It didn’t exactly match, but at the very least served to suggest they were on the same page.
April 28, 2026, 11:01 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Smoke is drifting over the crowd from the ceremonial cannon fire to open the official event.
Video
April 28, 2026, 10:58 a.m. ET
Shawn McCreesh
White House reporter
The King and Queen moved down a kind of mini receiving line of top Trump officials, shaking hands with Pete Hegseth, Howard Lutnick, Marco Rubio, Susie Wiles and JD Vance.
April 28, 2026, 10:57 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump, King Charles III; the first lady, Melania Trump; and Queen Camilla have entered the ceremony and are on the stage.
Video
April 28, 2026, 10:53 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Trump’s ballroom construction is looming over the greeting ceremony. A crane can be seen lowering into the spot where the East Wing used to be. As Trump prepared to enter the South Lawn, construction equipment could be heard banging.
Image
Credit...
Kenny Holston/The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 10:43 a.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
Top officials in the British government and Buckingham Palace representatives are making their way through the reception line. They include Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, and Tobyn Andreae, the king’s top spokesman.
April 28, 2026, 10:36 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
A light rain is falling on the crowd here on the South Lawn. Many people in the back are holding mini British and American flags. Some administration officials are seated closer to the White House. A stage is positioned just outside the South Portico with a lectern where President Trump will presumably speak soon. There is a notable security presence for the greeting; some federal agents are standing on the roof of the White House monitoring the event.
Image
Credit...
Salwan Georges for The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 10:33 a.m. ET
Michael D. Shear
Reporting from Washington
Today’s events are the culmination of months of planning on both sides of the Atlantic. The state dinner planned for later this evening is a way to return the favor to King Charles III, who hosted President Trump and the first lady at Windsor Castle in September. The visit is the first time the king has been to the United States since his coronation.
April 28, 2026, 10:23 a.m. ET
Zolan Kanno-Youngs
Reporting from the White House
Hundreds of spectators are gathered on the South Lawn of the White House for the ceremonial greeting between President Trump and King Charles III. Flag bearers line the circular staircase of the South Portico. An honor guard just marched out and is now standing in formation.
Image
Credit...
Salwan Georges for The New York Times
April 28, 2026, 9:13 a.m. ET
Adam Goldman
Security is tight for King Charles’s U.S. visit.
Image
Secret Service at the White House.
Credit...
Tierney L. Cross/The New York Times
Security is extremely tight for King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s
official state visit
to the United States this week, with layers of protection both unseen and highly visible after
the attack on a gala dinner
attended by President Trump and other top administration officials in Washington over the weekend.
“The security will match the gravity and magnitude of the visit,” said Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the Secret Service.
The royal visit began on Monday, less than two days after a gunman breached security at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to rush Mr. Trump from the stage. Mr. Guglielmi said that security planning for the king and queen had been in the works for months.
“We try to take a look at things every day,” he said. “We will always look at protective incidents and see what can be improved.”
The visit was arranged to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American independence. Charles and Camilla are stopping in Washington, where the king on Tuesday will meet one-on-one with the president in the Oval Office and will deliver an address to Congress. They are scheduled to visit New York on Wednesday.
Mr. Guglielmi said the Secret Service had been rehearsing aspects of the visit for months, including motorcade movements. In addition, he said the Secret Service had been working closely with the Royalty and Specialist Protection Command of the Metropolitan Police as well as other law enforcement partners, such as the New York Police Department, which has vast experience protecting dignitaries.
“There is no room for error,” said Todd Brown, a former senior State Department official who oversaw diplomatic security and dealt with many royal visits.
Bill Gage, a former Secret Service agent who led one of the agency’s elite counter assault teams, said the “king is going to get everything the president gets minus the military assets.”
He said the security plans for the king and queen were already in place, but that the attack on Saturday could cause the Secret Service to beef up security precautions and review evacuation plans.
Show more
April 28, 2026, 8:21 a.m. ET
Amelia Nierenberg
Reporting from London
The Epstein scandal hangs over the king’s visit.
Image
A vigil for Virginia Giuffre, a woman who said that Mr. Epstein had trafficked her to Britain and forced her to have sex with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the king’s brother, in 2001, in Washington on Saturday.
Credit...
Ken Cedeno/Reuters
The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has ripped through the highest levels of Britain, prompting
the firings
of two top officials and
a rupture
in the royal family. Now it looms over the state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Mr. Epstein, the convicted sex offender, cultivated ties with political and business elites on multiple continents, including with
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
, the king’s brother. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles over his connections to Mr. Epstein and was
arrested
this year over
accusations of misconduct in public office
, after reports that he may have shared confidential information with Mr. Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged.
After his brother’s arrest, the king made a
rare and direct public statement
expressing support for an investigation. Since then, he has
limited his public comments
on the issue.
The king and queen will
not meet with Mr. Epstein’s victims
while in the United States, despite a request from Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California. Lawyers representing Charles and Camilla said that they were unable to do so because of “ongoing police inquiries” in Britain.
Family members of Virginia Giuffre, a woman who said that Mr. Epstein had
trafficked her
to Britain and forced her to have sex with Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor in 2001, expressed their frustration. “This is a missed opportunity,” Sky Roberts, Ms. Giuffre’s brother,
told
Britai
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