𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Donald Trump appeared to confirm that King Charles’s state visit to the US would go ahead, despite recent calls to delay it due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The US President said the monarch is coming to see him “very shortly,” adding that he was “looking forward” to meeting him.

The overseas tour has yet to be officially announced, but the King and Queen are expected to visit Washington and New York in April to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. Mr Trump, who hosted Taoiseach Micheal Martin in the Oval Office on St Patrick’s Day, told reporters: “I do look forward to seeing the King. He’s going to be coming, as you know, very shortly.”

Asked about whether his relationship with Sir Keir Starmer was damaged by the UK’s stance over the war, Mr Trump said the Prime Minister made a “big mistake” in his response to US calls for support and suggested his effort to strike a “good deal” on trade with the UK “probably wasn’t appreciated”.

Senior Labour MP Dame Emily Thornberry has suggested it would be “safer to delay” Charles and Camilla’s state visit because of the Iran war, warning they could be left feeling “embarrassed” because of the current crisis.

Mr Trump has previously branded the UK’s approach to the conflict “terrible” and repeatedly lashed out at Sir Keir, including describing him as “not Winston Churchill”, with the special relationship between the two allied nations appearing increasingly strained.

The Prime Minister has insisted the UK will not be drawn into a “wider war”.

Dame Emily, chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee, said of the King’s visit: “If it was to go ahead, it would go ahead against a backdrop of a war, and that, I think, is quite difficult – and the last thing that we want to do is to have Their Majesties embarrassed.”

Sir Peter Westmacott, the former British ambassador to America and the King’s former deputy private secretary, also said a visit to the US amid the Iran war could prove to be “problematic” amid brewing tensions in the Middle East.

The 75-year-old said the Government has a “a duty to protect the monarchy in a situation like this” and “a duty to reflect public opinion in this country”.

He told The Times’s The Royals podcast: “I personally think that at the moment, while this war is continuing, it is problematic.

“The United States government is conducting a war, which the British government initially thought was clearly illegal.”

He added: “Both the Prime Minister and I imagine the palace will be asking themselves, ‘What does British public opinion really feel about this? How will a state visit to the United States at this time be perceived, how will it be felt?

“Is this indicative of the King…endorsing what the president of the United States is doing?’ While this goes on, that must be a matter for discussion.”

The British diplomat suggested that the US visit should be postponed, instead of being cancelled, to avoid any clash between the UK and the US.

It comes as a new poll revealed that nearly half of Britons are against the US state visit. The latest poll by YouGov, showed that nearly half of those polled (46%) think that the state visit should be cancelled. Another 36% said they should go ahead, while 18% voted I don’t know. The survey was conducted on May 9 on 12,002 British adults.