US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Queen Camilla walk to the White House beehive on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 27, 2026. AARON CHOWN / AFP
Britain's King Charles III met Donald Trump at the White House Monday, April 27, kicking off a high-stakes state visit shadowed by transatlantic tensions and a fresh alleged attempt to assassinate the US president. Behind the warm welcome for Charles and Queen Camilla in front of the cameras lay a deepening rift in the so-called "special relationship" between Washington and London over Trump's war in Iran.
In warm Washington sunshine, Charles and Trump exchanged handshakes and apparently friendly remarks outside the White House South Portico which reporters were unable to hear. First Lady Melania Trump, wearing a primrose yellow suit, gave Charles and Camilla kisses on both cheeks. Camilla was wearing a Cartier brooch with the British and US flags in platinum set with rubies, emeralds and diamonds.
Trump – whose fascination with the British royal family is a key point of leverage for UK diplomats – then led Charles inside, briefly touching his arm.
The Trumps are hosting the royal couple for tea and giving them a tour of the beehives on the White House's carefully manicured lawn, which Melania Trump has recently revamped. The four-day visit had been meant to celebrate the historic ties between the two close allies for the 250th anniversary of US independence from the British monarch's ancestor George III.
