King Charles is said to be taking a huge risk with his plans to visit the US as the country remains embroiled in conflict with Iran.
A Labor backbencher has urged the British monarch to reconsider his plans, which could spark outrage among Britons.
Polly Billington, MP for East Thanet, expressed concern about the optics of a royal appearance with Donald Trump at this time, saying: “I think we need to think quite carefully about how we implement things like a state visit. Because of the message it sends.”
In conversation with BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour, Billington said: “I think at the moment I don’t want to see anything that embarrasses the monarch.”
Dame Emily Thornberry, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, is also warning against traveling to America at this time, having previously indicated it would be “safer to delay” the trip.
Although not yet officially confirmed, the King and Queen Camilla are likely to fly to Washington and New York next month, scheduled to precede the 250th anniversary of US independence.
However, Trump wants the British royal to take up the fight for the US, as he declared last week that the monarch would visit him “very soon”.
The ongoing conflict, which has placed a growing financial burden on Britain, may well continue even if they meet.
Relations between London and Washington appear increasingly fraught, with Trump branding Britain’s handling of the situation “horrendous” and repeatedly attacking Sir Keir Starmer, at one point dismissing him as “not Winston Churchill”.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has maintained that Britain will avoid being drawn into a “bigger war”.
On the other hand, conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has thrown her support behind the state visit proceeding as planned.
“I think it makes sense and it also reminds people that there are some people who are above this diplomatic line,” she said.
Nigel Farage, the Reform UK leader, argued that current transatlantic tensions make the royal visit “even more imperative” and insisted it should go ahead.
A recent YouGov poll revealed that 46 percent of the British public believe the King should abandon the trip and stay in the country this year.
