King Charles takes on US President Donald Trump, the Falklands threat and a fraying special relationship. Photo / Getty Images
The King’s to-do list for the American state visit was already quite long.
He needs to smooth over United States President Donald Trump’s falling out with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer; tactfully talk sense on the war in Iran; and fix the apparent disintegration of the so-called special relationship at pace.
Can the head of the Church of England focus the US President’s mind after he appeared to liken himself to Jesus? Will Trump stop calling Starmer “not Winston Churchill” after a visit from the monarch he calls a friend?
At the last moment, as diplomats from Whitehall to the White House plan a state visit for the history books, America has thrown another curveball at the palace: a threat, buried in a leaked memo, to seize the Falkland Islands.
The Falklands, a British Overseas Territory of which King Charles is head of state, are not up for grabs, the Government has made clear.
Enter, once again, Charles III.
He will land in Washington DC, with the Queen, on Monday afternoon (Tuesday NZT). There will be tea with the Trumps and a garden party at the British Embassy, before a night of sleep at Blair House before getting down to business on Tuesday.
A “bi-lat” with Trump is on the schedule as being behind closed doors but, as all involved know, little about the US President is predictable.
There is a new joke in royal circles, usually said with a weary smile, that the latest breaking news was “not on the bingo card”.
The Falklands falls firmly into that category, but those involved in planning the trip are sanguine. Another day brings another set of Trump headlines, many of which are quickly forgotten, goes the theory.
In part, those who work with the King will simply trust his long experience in global diplomacy to get the job done.
“It’s not his first rodeo,” says one source, American pun probably intended.
And for the rest of it, the King is preparing in his own way: at Highgrove, where a sunny weekend will see him out in the garden and holding a large, ring-bound folder full of notes.
He will study every word, insiders say, from the biographies of everyone he will meet – accompanied by their pictures – to a reminder of all his previous visits, and those of his ancestors.
The British and US embassies have provided extensive briefings and there are notes on current affairs for ease, although the King is across those anyway, and background information for each of the 32 engagements he will carry out over six days.
His staff have been planning for the trip “carefully, thoughtfully and optimistically”, one source says.
The King and Queen are travelling at the request of the UK Government, officially to celebrate (or commemorate, from the British perspective) the 250th anniversary of American independence.
In reality, the Royal family has found itself, once again, on a rescue mission.
“These things are never easy,” says a palace source of the trip. “But if they were, it wouldn’t need the King to do it – we could leave it to the politicians.
“It’s the whole point, purpose and power of state visits to have a unique individual making the most of a unique relationship.”
A full state visit, they say, “can reach the parts that other visits can’t match”. If Trump won’t pick up the phone to Starmer, he will certainly listen to the King.
The King, his team, and advisers in Government and embassy will pore over “not just every last line but every last word” of both the speeches the King will deliver.
One, in Congress, is written with “the support and advice of Government”, framing its objectives in the King’s own words.
It will, those familiar with the details of the trip say, capture a “moment in history”, promoting the concept of US-UK unity in nuanced language “reflecting the realities of the past, present and future”.
It is far from the first time the King will deliver a major speech in challenging times. In Germany, when he spoke at the Bundestag, he did so in the fragile aftermath of Brexit and received a standing ovation.
In a second speech, at the White House dinner hosted by the Trumps, the King will be in a different mode entirely: there to entertain and amuse guests in the East Room and deliver a joke-filled love letter to America 250 years after it waved goodbye to his ancestor George III.
The speeches are written and signed off but will be studied again on the plane on the way to America where the King may insert an up-to-date “topical line” if he sees fit.
On the ground, he will be “prepared for all eventualities”.
“His Majesty does have experience in dealing with innumerable complex situations, in his own adroit way,” says a source.
Which is just as well, because at the weekend, the US President said he plans to talk to the King about “everything”.
Sign up to Herald Premium Editor’s Picks, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week’s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here.