THEY’RE taking no chances.
More than 40 man-hours of planning have gone into each minute of the King and Queen’s official visit to the United States next week.
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The King has visited the US over 20 times but in this country’s 250th birthday year, the stakes could not be higher for even the most seasoned global diplomat
King Charles will meet the President alone on Monday, for what could be one of the more consequential cups of tea in recent history Credit: AP
Soft-spoken royal courtiers have been locked in communication with no-nonsense, brash White House enforcers to hammer out every little detail.
But this is no normal state visit, it comes at a 70-year low in the once rock-solid alliance between the UK and the US.
Bear pits are everywhere: Andrew and Epstein, Iran, the dire relationship between the President and the PM, Harry and Meghan, and the endless saga around Peter Mandelson.
The King has visited the US more than 20 times but, in this great country’s 250th birthday year, the stakes could not be higher for even the most seasoned global diplomat.
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Yet before the royal party even touched the tarmac, a mighty row kicked off — with America punching the most sensitive of British bruises.
For all the planning, a dust-up over the Falklands was not on anyone’s bingo card.
A spectacularly ill-timed leak says the US State Department is considering reviewing its already weak semi-recognition of the UK’s rightful claim to the South Atlantic islands, in response to Keir Starmer making US bombers go the long way round to take out the Iranians.
While the Argentine armed forces are unlikely to even be able to mount another raid, defence experts say our own hollowed-out Navy could not repeat the triumphs of 1982.
Regardless of semantics, the Americans know this one is below the belt, and it’s a stark reminder of how angry our friends over here are with us.
So it joins the very long list of topics for King Charles to raise when he meets the President alone on Monday, for what could be one of the more consequential cups of tea in recent history.
If anyone can knock some sense into Donald J. Trump, it might just be His Maj.
Which is why it’s so important that next week does not go off half-cocked.
President Trump’s team recalls his trip to Windsor last year as the golden age of the second Trump administration, the highest point of their return to office.
His love of the Royal pomp and circumstance is well noted, but to get the full top drawer service felt like vindication after being turfed from office, battling years of lawfare and even bullets.
On that visit, beyond a rant about windmills and energy prices, the President barely put a foot wrong.
Despite his well-documented differences with the PM, the President and his team are well-versed in royal protocol and both sides are confident he will be on his best behaviour, during the formal parts of the visit at least.
Regardless, Starmer has wisely swerved the return visit, sending Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in his stead.
And a meticulous stitch-up between the White House and the Palace means the King and the President won’t face questions from the media together.
In fact, a ring of steel will protect the pair in the grounds for the formal parts of the state visit, far from the cries of pesky journalists. Meetings inside will be private.
What Trump writes on his Truth Social site, on the other hand, is harder to predict . . .
Which is why there is handwringing at the very top of the British Establishment this weekend, amid acute concern this trip could go badly wrong.
Two words you are not meant to hear are “Special” and “Epstein”.
While politicians talk endlessly about the Special Relationship, something that has taken a mighty battering recently over Iran, new British Ambassador Christian Turner has outlawed the phrase.
He’s told staff he never wants to hear them use it in their day-to-day diplomacy with the Americans, for fear it is too needy and forced.
Meanwhile the King’s crunch speech to Congress is being written and rewritten by a core team of aides, the ambassador and a beady eye from No10.
A whistlestop history of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence and shared bonds between British liberty and the American project will be peppered with nods to the environment and nature, as well as tech and trade.
Yet despite the Falklands row and the dire plight of the British Government, the thorniest issue will always be the dark cloud of Epstein that still lingers over Washington and the House of Windsor.
With ‘the Andrew formerly known as Prince’ under police investigation in Blighty over his links to the dead financier, Palace lawyers have told the King’s team he cannot meet with victims during his trip — despite their overtures and pressure from key Democrats.
The legal caution is probably a welcome relief.
It would be a deeply awkward encounter, given the King’s proximity to this scandal and the fact his family ponied up to pay off the late Virginia Giuffre.
Instead there will be coded references in the King’s speech to standing up for women, girls and the victims of abuse.
Whether that will be enough to forestall more guerrilla tactics by protesters and Epstein victims remains to be seen but some insiders are not hopeful.
While every effort to stage-manage the visit has been made, the Falklands row shows just how quickly that can be upended. Planning only gets you so far.
Good luck Your Majesty — it’s going to be a long few days.
THE White House has a secret weapon for next week: Melania Trump.
I hear the First Lady has taken on a particularly key role in planning the visit down to the tiniest details, and will be front and centre of events.
Still sore that he doesn’t have his ballroom built yet, President Trump wanted to stuff 150 guests into the cramped East Room for Tuesday night’s state banquet.
But that was quickly scotched by Melania, who has capped the list at 120 to avoid it looking tacky, and made it an even more sought-after ticket in this town.
The First Lady was also key to allaying fears the King would have had to use a festival-style Portaloo in the garden, if the dinner had been held in a tent on the lawn.
Something that was – politely but firmly – agreed between both sides to be deeply inappropriate.
