Britain’s King Charles III began a state visit to the United States, as transatlantic tensions simmer over the Iran war and despite a shooting two days earlier at a dinner attended by his host, President Donald Trump.
The four-day trip by Charles and Queen Camilla is intended to honor historic ties between the two countries as the United States marks its 250th anniversary, according to the British government.
Charles will become the first British monarch to address Congress since the late Queen Elizabeth II in 1991. The royal couple are also set to have tea with Trump and Melania and attend a state dinner.
They will travel to New York on Wednesday, visiting the 9/11 memorial, before departing Thursday for Bermuda for Charles’s first visit to a British overseas territory as monarch.
Buckingham Palace said Sunday that the US visit would go ahead despite the shooting at a gala the previous evening, adding that Charles was “greatly relieved” that Trump, his wife Melania and other guests were unharmed.
An alleged lone gunman is in custody following the incident at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association. One member of the president’s security detail was wounded.
Britain’s ambassador to the United States, Christian Turner, said after extensive discussions that “we are all very confident that all appropriate security measures are in place” for the state visit.
Meanwhile, protesters from the “Stop Trump Coalition” staged a demonstration outside the gates of Buckingham Palace as the visit got underway.
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