President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump rolled out the red carpet for King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Getty Images On Monday, President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump rolled out the White House red carpet for Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla, just days after an attack on the republic — and on the ideals of liberty, equality and individualism that forged it.
The king and queen’s historic state visit celebrating 250 years of American independence reminds us that US presidents and members of Britian’s royal family have long nurtured close ties.
King Charles made his first trip to Washington, DC, in July 1970, when at age 21 he traveled with his sister Princess Anne to meet President Richard Nixon.
As Prince of Wales he visited the United States 19 times, building an extensive range of connections.
Now His Majesty is a father and a grandfather, imbued with wisdom from his years both on and off the throne.
After the UK invited the president for an unprecedented second state visit last September, Trump is hosting the king in the first state visit of his second term, as a sign of their friendship.
Great Britain’s journey from America’s colonizer, through bitter conflict, to our modern-day partnership marks one of history’s most remarkable reconciliations.
This state visit will celebrate the ways our two nations now work together to make our people richer, safer and happier.
King Charles is following in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who met 13 of the past 14 US presidents and who, as part of her lifelong love affair with the United States, marked America’s 200th birthday along the East Coast in 1976.
His grandfather King George VI, meanwhile, sampled his first hot dog during a state visit in 1939 — grilled by President Franklin D. Roosevelt at his Hudson Valley home.
As one headline read the next day: “King tries hot dog. Asks for more.”
World War II was looming as the backdrop to that presidential cookout, and the king’s visit was intended to support US-UK cooperation in defense of our shared interests.
Today, the international horizon once again presents dangerous, autocratic and unorthodox security threats to our way of life.
So it’s as important today as it was then to acknowledge the enduring value of our two nations’ unrivaled security, defense and intelligence alliance.
At Arlington National Cemetery, the king and queen will pay their respects and meet US troops and veterans.
Our soldiers have trained, fought and died alongside each other throughout the past century, and today thousands of UK service personnel and their families are based across the United States, and vice versa.
In the Middle East over the past month, UK forces have shot down enemy drones almost daily, with over 110 successful engagements since the Iran war began.
The UK has more jets flying in the region than at any time in the last 15 years, and US aircraft are flying out of UK bases for defensive operations.
Over the next decade, the UK will spend $32 billion on American defense equipment, and is collaborating with the United States and Australia on AUKUS — a landmark security partnership.
Yes, Their Majesties’ trip will enjoy the high pageantry you’d expect in a state visit, but moreover they will meet a broad swath of Americans — from community leaders to business CEOs, cultural icons to tribal leaders — to celebrate that extraordinary US-UK kinship.
We have huge shared economic interests; we invest more in each other’s economies than any other two countries on earth, around $1.7 trillion in total, supporting more than 2.5 million jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
Britain is the biggest single investor in over 20 US states, including New York, California and Texas.
The US reciprocates, investing over three times more in the UK than any other nation.
These foundational investment ties deliver growth, skilled jobs and more opportunities for working families in both nations.
Working together our scientists, engineers and inventors gave the world electric light, radar, jet engines, nuclear science and built the Internet.
Now, as the only two Western countries with trillion-dollar tech sectors, we are collaborating to lead the next generation of scientific breakthroughs — from frontier AI and quantum computing to synthetic biology and civil nuclear fusion.
I have no doubt the king and queen will enjoy the warmth of the president and first lady’s hospitality, and the ease of American friendship, over the coming days.
Our nations’ relationship has changed enormously since America’s Declaration of Independence in 1776, but this state visit isn’t about the past.
It’s about renewing and revitalizing a unique friendship so that it will thrive into the next 250 years.
Sir Christian Turner is His Britannic Majesty’s ambassador to the United States.
