King Charles grasped ‘opportunity’ on US trip, palace says

LONDON – King Charles III’s US state visit was a “risk and challenge” that he “grasped in both hands”, a palace aide said on May 3 as the monarch returned from a widely praised trip.

King Charles left for Britain from Bermuda on May 2 following what a senior royal aide called a “historic” visit to the US, aimed at healing strained ties between Washington and London.

The highlight of the four-day visit was the 77-year-old king’s speech to US Congress on April 28 – the first such address since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II spoke there after the Gulf War in 1991.

The speech, marking 250 years since American independence, was “high stakes”, the aide involved in the visit told reporters.

The King urged the importance of NATO and called for a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine, despite US President Donald Trump’s critical stance on the bloc and Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

This was “a measure of how much he personally cares” and proves that he “will always be guided by the truth”, the royal aide said.

His words won praise from Mr Trump’s opponents, with senior Democrat Gregory Meeks hailing the king’s “impassioned call for a renewed commitment to NATO”.

And the speech appeared to have gone down well with Mr Trump, too.

The President told journalists on May 1 that King Charles “is just a great person. He’s a high quality person. I love the job he did in Congress”.

The rapport between the King and President continued as they met behind closed doors in the Oval Office, the royal aide said with “an awful lot of warmth and laughter” amid serious topics.

By contrast, Mr Trump has repeatedly lambasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, particularly over his stance on Iran.

The palace aide denied any awkwardness over the differences in warmth of relationship, stressed the King’s visit was on the government’s request and there is “not a competition” between the monarchy and Downing Street.

On the contrary, the King and Queen “have been able to help the government”, the aide said, and the King himself viewed the US leg of his trip as particularly “positive”.

“What looked like risk and challenge was also a phenomenal opportunity. One that was grasped in both hands by the King,” the aide said.

British media lavished praise on the visit: The Daily Telegraph called it “a triumph” and a “reassertion of our shared values”, while for The Times, it was a “star-spangled success”.

“I think it was a personal triumph” for King Charles, royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP, citing the King’s “superb” speech to Congress, with “brilliant jokes”.

“He got it right and every nuance seemed perfect. It pleased everybody,” Mr Fitzwilliams said of the address.

The visit proved a “boost” at a “very difficult time for the monarchy”, the royal expert said.

Undergoing cancer treatment and after a bitter rift with his son, Prince Harry, King Charles in 2026 saw his brother, the former prince Andrew, arrested over ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Trump reacted to the royal visit by lifting whisky tariffs, a major trade concession, in honour of King Charles.

But Mr Fitzwilliams urged caution on future consequences for Britain, citing Mr Trump’s “unpredictability”.

Mr Trump “loves all things British royal. But not necessarily the British government”, he said. AFP