Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has refused to bow to pressure to cancel the King’s long-planned trip to the US, with Buckingham Palace announcing the trip this afternoon. The Government, which decides which countries members of the Royal Family travel to on official visits, had been urged to call off the trip to Washington and New York over President Trump’s war against Iran.
But Starmer, who has had to endure weeks of personal attacks from the US President over the UK’s decision not to be drawn into the conflict, has given the visit the green light. It comes at a crucial moment for the so-called special relationship between the UK and US as they disagree on the handling of the war in the Middle East.
Trump has publicly belittled Sir Keir for refusing to send military support or join strikes on Iran.
The Labour Prime Minister has also repeatedly stated the UK will not be drawn into a wider offensive campaign in the Middle East, and said yesterday: “It’s really important that I reiterate where I stand and where this Government stands, because this is not our war and we are not going to be dragged into it.”
The King and Queen’s official visit to the US, therefore, falls against a politically sensitive backdrop.
A once-thriving relationship between the Prime Minister and the President has deteriorated significantly, and Starmer’s ability to get the special relationship back on track no longer falls to him.
By allowing the trip to go ahead, Labour are effectively leaving the King to do the heavy lifting.
They’ve calculated that a royal visit is unlikely to worsen the situation, and such an important diplomatic gesture could help to calm the waters.
They know that Trump has a deep respect for the Royal Family, so they will hope that Charles can repeat the success of last year’s Windsor state visit, when he quietly influenced the US President’s approach to Ukraine.
Starmer is reliant on the King utilising the Firm’s soft power to mollify Trump and help reverse the recent deterioration of relations.
But it won’t be a simple trip for the monarch. He’ll be visiting a controversial President who is deeply unpopular in the UK. Britons are largely opposed to the war with Iran and have long disagreed with many of his policies, such as on abortion and environmental issues.
However, Charles has spent his life undertaking important tasks on behalf of the Government and the Royal Family, so he will surely rise to the occasion.
And Starmer will be hoping the political gamble pays dividends for his own relationship with Trump going forward.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
