LONDON—King Charles’s arrival in the United States today for his first US state visit comes at an especially sensitive time for the special relationship between Washington and the United Kingdom.
Relations between the two old allies are at their lowest point in decades, particularly after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to allow US military aircraft to use UK bases for offensive missions against Iran in late February.
It was a rare snub by the United Kingdom to its crucial security partner, and US President Donald Trump’s response was withering. “This is not Winston Churchill we’re dealing with,” he said of Starmer in early March. When Starmer considered sending aircraft carriers to the Middle East a few days later, Trump accused him of trying to “join wars after we’ve already won.”
Yet the implications of this increasing tension between London and Washington go beyond verbal insults. The Trump administration is also threatening essential British national interests.
Already, the United States appears to have vetoed the United Kingdom’s attempt to hand the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands—an archipelago in the Indian Ocean hosting a vital US military base—to Mauritius. It has also raised the prospect of ripping up the trade deal the two countries signed in May last year. And recent reports even suggest that the Trump administration is considering reviewing its diplomatic support for the United Kingdom’s sovereign claim to the Falkland Islands.
This potential questioning of the United Kingdom’s claim of sovereignty over the Falklands—barely four decades since more than 250 British military personnel were killed in a war to reclaim the islands illegally occupied by Argentina—has caused outrage across the UK political spectrum.
In line with publics across most other European countries, the British people have long largely disapproved of Trump. In March, eight out of ten Britons said they have an unfavorable opinion of the US president, according to YouGov polling.
More concerning, however, is the extent to which the British people—and the United Kingdom’s political leaders—are increasingly questioning whether the United States is a reliable ally. At present, more than half of Brits view the United States as a negative force in the world, and only 14 percent believe the special relationship still exists in its traditional form.
So, while the state visit has caused controversy in the United Kingdom, many hope it can help reduce the political tensions between London and Washington and serve as a timely reminder of the enduring value of the allies’ deep social, economic, and security ties.
Trump has long professed his admiration for King Charles and—even with the scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and his relationship with the former Prince Andrew still swirling on both sides of the Atlantic—few institutions appear to charm and impress the US president more than the British royal family.
In addition to meeting with Trump during his visit to Washington, Charles III will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. It will be only the second such address by a British monarch. The first was delivered in 1991 by the king’s mother, Elizabeth II, whose brief speech focused on the shared principles and history of the two nations. In addition to the US capital, the king will also visit New York and Virginia during his four days in the United States.