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King Charles will go ahead with a state visit to the US in April, Buckingham Palace has confirmed, despite some politicians saying the trip will be a “humiliation” while Donald Trump’s war with Iran is ongoing.
MPs have privately expressed concerns there is potential to embarrass the king if the US president continues his criticisms of the UK’s armed forces before or during the trip.
The chair of the foreign affairs select committee, Emily Thornberry, is among those who have said there should be a delay while the war continues, although the Foreign Office has said it is intended to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence.
The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, said Keir Starmer had shown he was not prepared to stand up to the US president and cancel the visit, which is scheduled for three days from 27 April. The Green party leader, Zack Polanski, said the prime minister “must end this involvement in Iran and stop the king’s visit to the USA”.
The announcement of the visit came just minutes after Trump launched another verbal attack on the UK, saying the country should learn to “fight for yourselves” and take jet fuel from the Middle East using force. Last week Trump said the UK’s aircraft carriers were “toys” and unwanted.
Davey said: “The prime minister is showing a staggering lack of backbone by pushing ahead with this state visit while Donald Trump treats our country with contempt.
“To send the king on a state visit to the US after Trump dismissed our Royal Navy as ‘toys’ is a humiliation, and a sign of a government too weak to stand up to bullies. What appalling thing does Trump have to do next to make the government see sense and cancel the state visit?”
Thornberry had also suggested previously it would be “safer to delay” the visit, saying Charles and Camilla could be left feeling “embarrassed” because of the crisis.
Buckingham Palace said Charles and Camilla would undertake the visit at the end of April “on advice of his majesty’s government, and at the invitation of the president of the United States”.
Charles is expected to make an address to Congress and attend events marking the 250th anniversary of US independence.
It will be the king’s first visit to the US as monarch and the first state visit by a British sovereign to the US since Queen Elizabeth II’s tour in 2007.
Trump posted on his Truth Social network: “Melania and I are pleased to announce that Their Majesties, the King and Queen of the United Kingdom, will visit the United States for a Historic State Visit from April 27-30th, which will include a beautiful Banquet Dinner at the White House on the evening of April 28th.
“This momentous occasion will be even more special this year, as we commemorate the 250th Anniversary of our Great Country. I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect. It will be TERRIFIC!”
Only an hour earlier Trump had again criticised Starmer and his failure to back the US-Israel strikes on Iran.
“All of those countries that can’t get jet fuel because of the Strait of Hormuz, like the United Kingdom, which refused to get involved in the decapitation of Iran, I have a suggestion for you: Number 1, buy from the U.S., we have plenty, and Number 2, build up some delayed courage, go to the Strait, and just TAKE IT,” Trump said in another Truth Social post.
The US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, also put pressure on the UK to “step up” to defend the critical waterway in a press conference on Tuesday. “Last time I checked, there was supposed to be a big, bad Royal Navy that could be prepared to do things like that,” he said.
A number of Labour MPs have criticised the decision to allow the state visit to go ahead. John McDonnell, the veteran backbencher and former shadow chancellor, said: “Trump will inevitably do all he can to use this for his own personal publicity purposes in advance of the US elections. There is no gain from this visit as any association with the barbarity of the Trump regime tarnishes the reputation of our country.”
The former shadow defence secretary Clive Lewis said: “No one disputes the need for diplomacy with the US. That is realpolitik. But rolling out a state visit in the middle of an illegal war, led by a man doing profound damage to democratic norms, is not diplomacy; it is a profound misreading of the moment.”
The MP Kim Johnson said it was an insult to the British people facing a cost of living crisis because of the war. “This war is causing global economic crisis, which will create deeper levels of poverty for my constituents,” she said. “The royal visit will only embolden Trump. This shouldn’t be allowed to happen; he has slagged off Starmer and undermined our government.”
More than 140,000 people have sent letters to the Palace via the 38 Degrees site calling on the king to cancel the visit, although the monarch takes part in state visits at the direction of the government.
Jake Atkinson, a spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition, said: “The king’s visit will serve as an endorsement of this illegal war, and Trump’s constant disregard for international law.
“Keir Starmer has made a big point of claiming that the UK is not involved in Trump’s war – but has allowed the US to use British bases to launch its attacks. As the cost of the war bites, and Trump insults the UK daily, it is unacceptable that Starmer will continue his failed strategy of appeasing Trump by sending the king to wine and dine with the warmonger-in-chief.
After the US visit, Charles will visit Bermuda, without Camilla, for his first royal visit as monarch to a British overseas territory. Exact dates and details have yet to be disclosed.
State visits are rarely postponed, except for security reasons and illness, and the royal family’s soft power diplomacy is viewed as an important and unique way of engaging with Trump, who is well known for his love of the monarchy.
Last year, the president was feted with a second state visit to the UK, unprecedented for a US leader.
Charles’s tour will raise questions over whether he will see his son Harry, with whom he has had a troubled relationship, his wife, Meghan and their children, Archie and Lilibet.
