King Charles to address US Congress during first state visit as monarch

Washington: King Charles III will address the US Congress during his first state visit to the United States as monarch later this month, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday, describing the trip as one that will highlight the shared history of the two countries and the depth of their present-day ties.

Charles will travel to the United States from April 27 along with Queen Camilla for a four-day visit, according to the royal communications team. Buckingham Palace said the programme would recognise the shared history of Britain and the United States, as well as the breadth of current relations and deep people-to-people links.

US House Speaker Mike Johnson said Charles would address members of both chambers of Congress on April 28, although Buckingham Palace did not specify the exact date of the speech in its own announcement.

The visit will take place despite calls from some British politicians for it to be cancelled or postponed because of open differences between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iran war. Starmer said on Monday that the “very important” visit would proceed, adding that ties fostered by the monarchy can “reach through the decades in a situation like this”. Trump, meanwhile, wrote on his Truth Social platform that the visit “will be TERRIFIC”.

Charles will become the first British monarch to address Congress since Queen Elizabeth II did so in 1991, shortly after the Gulf War. During their stay in Washington, Charles and Camilla are scheduled to have tea with Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, attend a state dinner and take part in a military review.

The royal couple hosted Trump during a state visit in September that included a dinner at Windsor Castle, a flypast and military parades. That visit was described as an unprecedented second state visit for Trump, who had previously been hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth in 2019. Elizabeth last paid a state visit to the United States in 2007.

Questions over Andrew and Epstein case

The visit comes as Charles, 77, faces a major crisis involving his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, previously known as Prince Andrew, who is under UK police investigation following revelations about his links to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A US lawmaker and the family of Virginia Giuffre, an Epstein accuser who died by suicide last year, have urged Charles to meet survivors of Epstein’s crimes during the trip. However, a source told Britain’s Press Association that “our position is clear” that such a meeting “will not be possible”, citing the risk that it could “impact on (police) inquiries, or the proper course of the law”.

New York, Virginia and Bermuda on itinerary

After Washington, Charles and Camilla will travel to New York, where they are due to meet first responders and relatives of those killed in the September 11 attacks, nearly 25 years ago. The king is also expected to meet business leaders and attend a reception highlighting cultural links and his charity, The King’s Trust, which supports vulnerable young people.

The couple will then head to Virginia, where some of the first English colonies were established. They are scheduled to attend a street block party marking the anniversary of the 1776 declaration of independence.

The tour will conclude with a visit to Bermuda on May 1, Charles’s first trip there as monarch. The last royal visit to the archipelago was made by Queen Elizabeth in 2009.