Last week’s state visit saw Donald Trump and King Charles all smiles, receiving warm compliments and easy laughter as they wrapped up their meeting at the White House.
Trump hailed the monarch as “the greatest king” and repeatedly described him as “fantastic,” capping a surprisingly cordial meeting on the world stage.
When they first met in 2019, Charles was still Prince of Wales, and welcoming Trump for tea at Clarence House would have failed.
According to former White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham and detailed in Susan Page’s book The Queen and her presidents, Trump later complained that the conversation had been “terrible,” saying it was focused on “nothing but climate change.”
Even Melania Trump reportedly joked that her husband was “very bored.”
Having become king, Charles entered the world stage with renewed authority during a high-profile state visit that took place in New York, Washington DC and Virginia, before continuing solo to Bermuda.
The visit marked one of the most important diplomatic moments of his reign so far and perhaps the most closely watched.
At the heart of the event was a historic speech to the US Congress, where the king received numerous standing ovations, earning praise for his message of global cooperation, sustainability and shared values.
