Donald Trump to meet King Charles in the UK in September
Donald Trump is set to meet with King Charles when he becomes the first political leader to receive a second state visit to Britain.
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Donald Trump said he expected to meet King Charles III in Britain in September, on an unprecedented second state visit that London hopes will boost transatlantic ties.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed the US President an invitation from the monarch during a meeting in the Oval Office in February as he tried to win over the US leader on tariffs and Ukraine.
“I think they’re setting a date for September,” Mr Trump told reporters.
“They’re going to do a second ‘fest.’ And that’s what it is, it’s a fest, and it’s beautiful, and it’s the first time it’s ever happened to one person,” added Mr Trump.
“I’m a friend of Charles. I have great respect for King Charles and the family, (heir to the throne Prince) William. We have just really a great respect for the family, and it’s a very great honour.”
Britain’s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported on Thursday that the royal family was set to host Mr Trump at Windsor Castle, the king’s historic home near London.
Mr Trump will become the first political leader to receive a second state visit to Britain, after he visited in 2019 during his first term as president.
The 78-year-old Republican has long been a vocal fan of the British royal family.
He also has a close affinity to the UK due to the fact his mother was born in Scotland, where he owns a golf course.
It comes as King Charles III on Thursday paid tribute to humanitarian workers who “risk their own lives” to protect others in war-torn countries, in a message broadcast to mark Easter.
“One of the puzzles of our humanity is how we are capable of both great cruelty and great kindness,” said the British monarch, who is also head of the Anglican Church, in a message published by Buckingham Palace.
“This paradox of human life runs through the Easter story and in the scenes that daily come before our eyes - at one moment, terrible images of human suffering and, in another, heroic acts in war-torn countries where humanitarians of every kind risk their own lives to protect the lives of others,” he added.
The king, who is still receiving weekly treatment for an unspecified cancer diagnosed in early 2024, and Queen Camilla attended Maundy Thursday services at Durham Cathedral in north-east England, before attending a traditional Easter Mass in Windsor on Sunday.
The monarch is duty-bound to remain politically neutral, and did not mention any particular conflicts.
However, his message comes at a time when the number of humanitarian workers killed reached a record high of 280 in 2024, according to the UN, as conflict rages in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine.
The king also stressed the similar duty of care for strangers demanded by Judaism, Islam, “in other religious traditions and in the hearts of all those who seek the good of others”.
“There are three virtues that the world still needs - faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love,” he added.
“It is with these timeless truths in my mind, and my heart, that I wish you all a blessed and peaceful Easter.”
- with AFP
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