President Trump will meet with His Majesty as part of a series of activities planned by the White House during his state visit.
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?
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will meet privately with King Charles in the Oval Office, a break from the videoconferencing style that has characterized the president’s visits with foreign leaders in his first year in office.
President Trump is scheduled to meet with Her Majesty on Tuesday, April 28, as part of a series of activities planned by the White House as the first state guest of a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth in 2007. It will also be the king’s first visit to the United States since his coronation in 2022.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions between the United States and Britain over President Trump’s handling of the Iran war and his threat to withdraw from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. For King Charles, the visit will be a test of his diplomatic skills.
But royal watchers hoping to hear the conversation between the president and the British monarch may be disappointed.
The meeting between the two officials will not include a livestreamed press conference like the one the president has hosted with other international dignitaries.
Officials familiar with the talks said the reason for this is because King Charles is the head of state, not the head of government. He has a primarily ceremonial role. The king does not decide British policy and rarely comments publicly on government matters.
President Trump has touched on high-stakes international policy issues, particularly ongoing foreign conflicts, in past Oval Office video conferences with foreign leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The meetings were sometimes heated. For example, a meeting between President Trump and President Zelenskiy in 2025 made headlines for escalating into a swearing match.
The president has met privately with several foreign leaders since the beginning of the year, including at press conferences with media outlets. During a meeting in March, Irish Prime Minister Michael Martin disagreed with President Trump on immigration to the European Union.
Under royal etiquette, the king is expected to avoid similar discussions about ongoing political issues.
