The King and Queen will meet with US President Donald Trump in person five times over four days as they try to patch up the strained relations between the US and UK amid the conflict in Iran.
British diplomats and palace officials admit these are challenging times, but they are confident King Charles has the experience to make it a success and enjoys the respect of President Trump.
However, everyone involved in the visit admits it is the most risky diplomatic trip of King Charles’ reign so far.
The official state visit to the United States is taking place at the end of April in Washington DC, New York and Virginia, and despite the barbed comments Trump has made about the UK in recent weeks, Downing Street is determined it should still go ahead.
But King Charles and Queen Camilla are unable to meet any survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse because of the risk that any such meeting could prejudice the ongoing police investigations into Epstein in the UK.
It is not the King and Queen’s decision to visit the United States at this time; they have been asked to go by the UK government and have agreed to do so.
The official purpose of the trip is to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence in 1776.
And, as Buckingham Palace appeared to acknowledge, the historic relationship between the two countries is more than about any individual occupant of the Oval Office.
The last “King of America” was George III, who was on the throne during and after the American War of Independence.
A Palace spokesperson said: “This is celebrating a partnership between two nations and two peoples. It is a relationship that has survived many presidencies and, of course, many reigns, and will no doubt continue to do so long into the future.”
Donald Trump visited the UK in September last year. Credit: PA
Donald Trump has already been afforded two state visits to the UK, but this is the first time a British monarch has visited the US since Queen Elizabeth in 2007.
King Charles has also accepted an invitation to address a joint session of the United States Congress, something his mother last did in 1991 – shortly after the first Gulf War.
But that speech came at a time when the US and UK were on the same page concerning the conflict in the Middle East, unlike now when the US president has given Sir Keir Starmer several tongue lashings over his refusal to get involved in the US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
Trump has said Starmer is “no Winston Churchill”, he picked on his voice, shared social media posts mocking his British counterpart and called Royal Navy warships “toys” compared to American ones.
In the House of Commons on Monday, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said the visit should be called off.
Sir Ed told MPs: “I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our King is forced to stand by his side. We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”
But the prime minister put his faith in the so-called ‘soft-power’ of the monarchy, which he said, “is often able to reach through the decades on a situation like this”.
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The King and Queen will be welcomed to Washington DC on 27 April, with a private tea at the White House hosted by the President and First Lady.
There will also be a formal ceremonial military review the following day in the White House grounds, plus a bilateral meeting between King Charles and President Trump.
Only stills photographers have been invited into the Oval Office, which limits the chance of Donald Trump saying something awkward in front of TV cameras.
Following the speech to senators and representatives in Congress, the King and Queen will attend a state dinner at the White House with speeches from both principals.
We can assume that the words will be signed off by both American and British diplomats, but no one can ever be confident that Trump will stick to his script and avoid making any off-the-cuff remarks.
In New York on 29 April, the King and Queen will honour those who were killed on 9/11 and meet serving emergency service personnel, in what is the 25th anniversary year of the 2001 terrorist attacks.
There will also be several other events in Manhattan, but it has not been confirmed if the royals will meet the newly elected mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
On their final day in the US, they will travel to a town in Virginia and a national park to meet Americans who are starting the 250th anniversary celebrations ahead of this year’s July 4th Independence Day.
What the King and Queen will not be able to do on the trip is see those Epstein survivors who have written to the palace asking for a meeting.
There is currently a criminal investigation in the UK into the King’s younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, for the offence of misconduct in public office.
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but he was stripped of his prince title, his dukedom and his home in Windsor. Credit: PA
Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but he was stripped of his prince title, his dukedom and his home in Windsor.
Other police assessments are going on into claims of trafficking young women into the UK for sex.
The former Prince Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing, but he was stripped of his prince title, his dukedom and his home in Windsor over what the palace called his “errors of judgement”.
A Buckingham Palace source said: “We fully understand and appreciate the survivors’ position, but can only reiterate that our position is clear that anything that could potentially impact on ongoing police inquiries and assessments and any potential criminal investigation that could result from that would be to the detriment of the survivors themselves in their pursuit of justice.”
However small the risk, it is one palace officials are not prepared to take.
The royal source pointed to the “robust comments” and “actions” the King and Queen have previously taken on this issue and pointed to Queen Camilla’s “long-term advocacy in support of the victims and survivors of all forms of domestic and sexual abuse”.
It’s understood that the Queen will meet with organisations advocating for survivors and victims at other engagements during her time in the US.
Overall, it will be a challenging few days in the United States and British diplomats will be holding their collective breaths that Trump will be on his best behaviour.
That, however, is something about which no one can be certain.
This is the Talking Royals – our weekly podcast about the Royal Family, with ITV News Royal Editor Chris Ship and Producer Lizzie Robinson.