See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 14:54 BST, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 15:04 BST, 4 June 2026
King Charles raised concerns about hosting Donald Trump during his state visit to the UK after the US president's public attack on Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, it was claimed today.Trump made an historic second official visit to Britain in September, which included a banquet at Windsor Castle alongside the monarch and Queen Camilla with the full pomp and ceremony of royal events.While it publicly appeared to go off without a hitch, Charles is said to have asked beforehand whether it should go ahead.According to the i Paper messages withheld from the Mandelson Files show the King was 'jittery' about gladhanding the erratic president due to his open hostility towards Zelensky, with whom the King has built up a strong rapport.During a visit to the White House in February last year the Ukrainian war leader clashed with Trump and Vice President JD Vance, and was accused of not showing enough respect to them.The president and VP's behaviour was widely condemned at the time by world leaders including Sir Keir Starmer, at a time when questions were being asked about US support for Ukraine.And it came just a day after Sir Keir had himself been in the Oval Office to officially invite Trump to Britain for a second state visit.At the time the PM rebuffed calls for the invitation to be revoked, saying it was a matter for the King. Trump made an historic second official visit to Britain in September, which included full royal pomp and pageantryThe King himself met Zelensky in London in what was seen as a show of support days after the Trump incident The King himself met Zelensky days later at his Sandringham estate in Norfolk in what was seen as a show of support after the Trump incident.They were pictured smiling as they shook hands and posed for pictures, with Charles patting Zelensky's arm during the greeting. 'The president was warmly received, and the meeting lasted just under an hour', the Palace said after the meeting. But allies of the US President made it clear to UK officials in America that the pictures made him feel 'less special' about the monarch's invitation for a state visit to Britain. No 10 said that it 'did not recognise' the claims that Mr Trump was sulking over the meetings, but a well-placed source said: 'Things definitely went a bit cool in Washington after Sandringham. We told them that the King makes his own decisions about who he meets'. The King and Zelensky went on to have further meetings in June and October when the Ukrainian leader visited the UK for talks with Sir Keir. Charles visited Trump in Washington earlier this year on a visit to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.Messages that were released in the Mandelson Files on Monday show Lord Mandelson, then the UK ambassador to the US, praising Civil Service chief Sir Olly Robbins in mid-March 2025 for his 'cool handling of the last 48hrs on SV (state visit)'.The released messages do not say what issue required cool handling, but Mandelson went on to say that he was 'checking with No 10 where they’re at post-Audience', a reference to the regular weekly meeting between the monarch and the PM.He added that he had been assured that Sir Keir had been 'fully briefed' about whatever the issue was. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
