WASHINGTON – King Charles III jokingly apologized for the British burning the White House during the War of 1812 but slyly noted that, were it not for his fellow countrymen, the Americans might be speaking French.
President Donald Trump marveled at the king’s diplomatic skills at winning over Republicans and Democrats and paid him the ultimate Trumpian compliment. The king, the president said, is “a fantastic person.”
But beneath the lighthearted banter, the personal flattery and the theatrical spectacle that surrounds a royal visit, there remained subtle signs of the deep divisions that have become the most serious test in decades for the long friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“We have stood together through the best and worst of times,” Charles, in white tie and tails, acknowledged during his toast at the White House state dinner in his honor in the chandeliered East Room on April 28.
Political analysts praised the king’s diplomatic overtures and the manner in which he deftly dealt with Trump, who is angry with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the British government over a multitude of issues, including their reluctance to get involved in the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran. But they questioned how far the king’s four-day state visit to the United States would go toward patching up the discord between the two nations.
