Last week’s state visit saw Donald Trump and King Charles all smiles, receiving warm compliments and light laughs as they concluded their meeting at the White House.
Hailing the monarch as “the greatest king” and repeatedly describing him as “fantastic”, Trump ended a surprisingly cordial meeting on the global stage.
During their first meeting back in 2019, Charles, still Prince of Wales, hosting Trump for tea at Clarence House reportedly fell flat.
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” and said it focused on “nothing but climate change.”
Even Melania Trump reportedly joked that her husband was “very bored.”
Now King, Charles stepped onto the world stage with renewed authority during a high-profile state visit that took in New York, Washington DC and Virginia before continuing to Bermuda solo.
The visit marked one of the most significant diplomatic moments of his reign so far and perhaps his most watched.
At the heart of it was a landmark speech to the US Congress, where the king received several standing ovations and was praised for his message of global cooperation, sustainability and shared values.
