LONDON− King Charles III isn't an elected politician. But his trip to the United States has political implications.
But the monarch's state visit to the U.S. to mark the nation's 250th birthday comes as extreme political movements are on the rise back home, echoing political divisions facing Americans and placing a spotlight on the U.K.'s relationship with President Donald Trump.
Reform UK, a far-right political party, and the Green Party, a far-left liberal party, lead ahead of May 7 elections across the United Kingdom, according to recent Ipsos UK polling asking who citizens expect to win. Meanwhile, voters expect the mainstream Labour and Conservative parties to see losses, the polling suggests. And April 2026 opinion polling by Ipsos in the U.K. shows Reform UK in the lead, with 25% of voters saying they intend to vote for the far-right party and 17% saying they will vote Green.
These fresher, more extreme parties aren't officially linked to any U.S. political movements, but there are parallels in their origin stories.
"They have similar domestic causes," Tony Travers, associate dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told USA TODAY, naming high living costs and concerns about immigration as key factors. "It's a turbulent time for U.K. government."
