King Charles faces a major diplomatic test
King Charles’ first visit to the United States as a monarch comes amid tensions over NATO and Iran. USA TODAY’s Susan Page explains what’s at stake.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026, episode of the podcast The Excerpt: Wednesday, April 22, 2026, episode of The Excerpt podcast: King Charles III visits Washington and meets with President Donald Trump as global tensions rise and the U.S.-British alliance faces strain. USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page joins The Excerpt to share her insights.
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Dana Taylor:
King Charles III is scheduled to make his first visit to Washington as a monarch next week. There, he will address lawmakers and also be honored with a state dinner with President Donald Trump. The king’s visit comes at a sensitive time in relations. In addition to the global chaos caused by the Iran war and President Trump’s threat to abandon NATO, there is also the issue of Jeffrey Epstein, which involves Prince Charles’ older brother (formerly known as Prince Andrew). Queen Elizabeth, the king’s mother, was known for her flexible diplomacy and ability to stabilize relations with the American president even in moments of crisis. Now the question is whether Charles can do the same.
Hello. Welcome to this excerpt from USA TODAY. I’m Dana Taylor. Today is Wednesday, April 22, 2026. USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page also joins me to share insight into the special relationship between the King and Trump.
Susan, I’m always happy to have you with me.
Susan Page:
Danna, I’m glad to have you back.
Dana Taylor:
Susan, let’s start with the big picture. What’s at stake with the King’s visit and why now?
Susan Page:
There’s quite a lot at stake. This is a very difficult time for US-UK relations. This may be the most dangerous period since the 1956 Suez crisis, which caused a major rift in relations between the two countries. We disagree about the Iran war and the future of NATO. This will therefore be a test for King Charles, who will be making his first visit to the United States since his coronation.
Dana, in some ways it reminds me of Queen Elizabeth II’s first visit to the United States as Queen. This was right after the Suez crisis. Relations between the two countries were at their worst. She came to Japan, her visit with President Eisenhower was a huge success, and suddenly the Suez crisis wasn’t such a big issue between the two countries. I know that the UK would like that to happen this time.
Dana Taylor:
How much will President Trump’s stance on NATO and Europe complicate what Prince Charles is trying to do with this trip?
Susan Page:
We must remember that NATO is the result of an effort by the United States and Europe to form an alliance after World War II to confront oppression and protect each other. This is what Winston Churchill helped pave the way for during World War II, and what King Charles’ grandfather, Queen Elizabeth’s father, was instrumental in creating this kind of sense of a special relationship between two countries, linked by a single language, similar values, and a long history. And that’s something Queen Elizabeth went to great lengths to maintain.
Now, at great risk, we have President Trump even suggesting that the United States may withdraw from NATO, which would be a cataclysmic global event that would truly disrupt alliances around the world.
Dana Taylor:
When President Trump and the King first met in 2019, they didn’t exactly hit it off. What do we know about their dynamic approach to this visit?
Susan Page:
We know what President Trump thought of Prince Charles during his 2019 visit because Trump’s press secretary, Melania Trump, wrote a memoir with Stephanie Grisham that included a description of how boring the president’s meeting with Charles was. Trump complained that all he talks about is climate change. Climate change is a cause that Charles traces back a long time. But they have been meeting ever since. King Charles then invited President Trump for a state visit. He is the first president in history to make his second state visit to London. And it helped them a lot in building better personal relationships.
King Charles heads to Washington DC as global tensions rise
King Charles becomes the first monarch to visit the United States. Will he be able to stabilize U.S.-UK relations amid rising global tensions?
Dana Taylor:
King Charles is not a political figure in the traditional sense. So what can he realistically accomplish during a trip like this?
Susan Page:
yes. He is a constitutional monarch. He has no hard power. He is unable to negotiate what should happen to the NATO alliance. He cannot send British troops to war with Iran. So he doesn’t have hard power, but he does have soft power. I think it’s easy to underestimate the impact of soft power. It can prompt the leaders of the two countries to reevaluate each other, understand the other’s perspective a little better, and feel more friendly towards the other. That is the power of Queen Elizabeth. And the test will be on King Charles, but does he have the ability to make soft power count when it counts?
Dana Taylor:
Do we have any idea what he plans to do in his speech to Congress?
Susan Page:
I don’t know what he’s going to say in Congress. We know it will be carefully written and thoroughly vetted. This is not an improvised speech by the king.
Meanwhile, his mother also addressed a joint session of Congress, the day after the incident, where she was greeted by President George H.W. Bush at the White House. Bush was a tall man. A podium and microphone were prepared for him. He walked away and she stepped forward. And he forgot to pull out the little chair she was supposed to stand on. So instead of being visible to all the cameras lining the South Lawn, I was one of the reporters watching this unfold, but she was too low for the podium and microphone. And all you could see was her hat, which was bobbing up and down every time she spoke.
This caused a lot of laughter. And the next day, in a speech to Parliament, Queen Elizabeth began with a joke. She said, “I hope you can meet me.” This caused a great deal of laughter and proved to all doubters that the Queen indeed had a sense of humour.
Dana Taylor:
Susan, There is also turmoil within the royal family itself in connection with former Prince Andrew’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. What has the king done to end this embarrassing chapter for the royal family? And what else can be done to quell concerns about the Epstein scandal?
Susan Page:
yes. This was a very serious situation for the monarchy. It’s very embarrassing and could have legal repercussions for Andrew. Charles stripped his younger brother of the title of prince, which Andrew had held since birth. And he also basically kicked Andrew out of the luxury home owned by Charles as king, where Andrew had lived for decades, forcing Andrew to move into a more modest home instead. So Charles did quite a bit.
He’s done one more thing. He said the legal system should move in the right direction. He made it clear that he would not intervene to prevent Andrew from experiencing any legal consequences for his actions.
Dana Taylor:
Susan, you write that Charles spent decades building relationships with the president of the United States. How does his personal background shape his approach to Trump? Now, Mr. Trump clearly has a completely different style of diplomacy.
Susan Page:
What a privilege it was for Charles to meet so many U.S. presidents! The first person he met was President Eisenhower when he was invited to Balmoral Castle in Scotland. It was a truly unusual visit. There is also a photo of Queen Elizabeth greeting the president. And next to her is Prince Charles. he is 10 years old. He wears a kilt and knee socks. That was his introduction to the US Presidency. Since then, he has met nine other American presidents. He has traveled to the United States 19 times.
As such, Charles has met with every president from Eisenhower to Trump and has a sophisticated understanding of the United States, the American people, the press, and the different types of presidents.
Dana Taylor:
After all, what does success really look like for King Charles on this trip? What is the indication that he was able to stabilize or strengthen this relationship?
Susan Page:
I think I’ll take a look at Truth Social. It’s a place where you can hear almost exactly what President Trump is thinking, so please pay attention to it. So even though President Trump is tweeting positively and talking about King Charles and talking about the United Kingdom and expressing his views on the special relationship, will it still continue? I think this is a pretty good sign that King Charles accomplished the mission he was sent to Washington for.
Dana Taylor:
Susan Page is USA TODAY’s Washington bureau chief. Susan, thank you so much for joining us on The Excerpt.
Susan Page:
Thank you, Danna.
Dana Taylor:
We would like to thank Senior Producer Kaely Monahan for her production assistance. Executive producer is Laura Beatty. Let us know what you think about this episode by sending a note to podcasts@usatoday.com. Thank you for your attention. I’m Dana Taylor. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be back with another episode of USA TODAY Excerpts.
