By Nandita Bose and Patricia Zengerle
WASHINGTON, April 28 (Reuters) – Britain’s King Charles arrived at the White House on Tuesday for a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, as part of a state visit intended to underscore unity between the two longtime allies, despite deep divisions over the Iran war.
Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted by the president and first lady Melania Trump for a morning visit to the presidential mansion while hundreds of guests stood on the South Lawn with the Washington Monument in the distance. Cannons boomed, temporarily covering much of the scene with smoke, as the U.S. national anthem played.
“What a beautiful British day this is,” Trump told the gathering under an overcast April sky to the amusement of British guests.
The royal couple are on a four-day state visit to the U.S. designed to underscore the ties forged between Britain and its former colony over the 250 years since American independence, an association known in recent decades as the “special relationship”.
In his remarks, Trump referred to the king as “a very elegant man” and joked that his mother “had a crush on Charles”.
TRUMP ON ‘WOUNDS OF WAR’
But he also stressed the bonds of friendship that have evolved between Britons and Americans since their days as adversaries during the War of Independence and the “wounds of war” it caused.
“Think of that very, very long ago difficult war, and yet those wounds did indeed heal into the most cherished of friendships,” Trump said.
“The soldiers who once called each other Red Coats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs who together saved the free world as brothers in arms and brothers in eternity,” the president added in a reference to World War Two.
After the visit to the White House, the king was scheduled to emphasize unity between the U.S. and Britain in a rare address to Congress at 3 p.m. EDT (1900 GMT).
Charles will steer clear of the political acrimony between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer but underline their countries’ shared values as the duty to promote peace, compassion and democracy, while protecting the environment and religious freedom.
‘WAYS TO COME TOGETHER’
A palace source said that, despite the periodic differences in the two countries’ relationship, the king will say: “Time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together.”
The long-planned visit has unfolded against tensions over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, after Trump repeatedly criticized Britain for declining to support the offensive, and after an internal Pentagon email suggested Washington could review its support for Britain’s claim to the Falkland Islands.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Britain’s ambassador to Washington, Christian Turner, had said that the only “special relationship” the U.S. has is with “probably Israel” and that he disliked the phrase because it is “quite nostalgic” and it has a “lot of baggage about it”.
Asked about the report, a foreign office spokesperson said Turner was making “private, informal comments” to a group of teenage British students who visited the U.S. in early February. “They are certainly not any reflection of the UK Government’s position,” the spokesperson said.
The king’s address will be the second by a British sovereign to the U.S. Congress. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, spoke to both houses in 1991.
It is a central event of the state visit – the most high-profile of Charles’ reign so far – and will be followed by a state dinner on Tuesday night.
Tuesday night’s state dinner will be the first at the White House since Trump had the East Wing torn down to make way for his planned ballroom. The East Wing for decades has been the official entrance for guests arriving for state dinners and other functions, and with the area now a construction zone, they will have to take a different route into the building.
DEEP BONDS
The Congress speech is set to last about 20 minutes, the palace source said. It will focus on the deep bonds between the two nations and how the alliance can benefit global security and prosperity, but it will also voice some caution about the U.S. going it alone, and refer to NATO and Ukraine.
Trump’s administration has repeatedly criticized many of the U.S.-led military alliance’s other members for not offering more assistance to U.S. operations against Iran and pressed European countries into sharing more of the financial burden for supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion.
While written on the advice of the British government, much of the language and tone in the speech comes from Charles himself, the source said.
Charles will also reference the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the royals will be in New York City to commemorate those killed in the attacks of September 11, 2001, and the trip concludes in Virginia on Thursday with the king meeting people involved in conservation, reflecting his long-standing environmental advocacy.
He will then travel to Bermuda.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Patricia Zengerle in Washington; Additional reporting by Michael Holden and William James in London; Writing by Daniel Trotta and David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Timothy Heritage and Alistair Bell)
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