Donald Trump has left royal sources “flabbergasted” by suggesting at a state banquet speech that King Charles supports his efforts to stop Iran having nuclear weapons.
The US President took the highly unusual step of referring, during his White House speech, to private conversations with the monarch about a controversial political topic.
Trump was accused by royal insiders and commentators of “breaking protocol” and trying to make political capital out of the King, amid the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
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TECHNOLOGY
Training chatbots to sound friendlier ‘may cause more mistakes’
Caption: Businesswoman using technology smart chatbot AI
Photographer: Krongkaew
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Training AI chatbots such as ChatGPT to sound friendlier may lead them to make more mistakes, a study suggests.
Platforms that prioritised warmth were also more likely to tell people what they wanted to hear, especially if users expressed sadness.
What you need to know
For the study, experts at the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford generated and analysed more than 400,000 responses from five platforms; Llama-8b, Mistral-Small, Qwen-32b, Llama-70b and GPT-4o.
Caption: Smartphone with a glass speech bubble with the chatbot symbol inside.Chatbot concept. open AI, Artificial Intelligence.
Photographer: Francesco Carta fotografo
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Copyright: Francesco Carta
Caption: Illustration
Photographer: Malorny
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Researchers used a training process similar to what developers may use to make their chatbots sound friendlier, and compared how the original and modified platforms responded.
A closer look at the detail
The study found that chatbots trained to sound warmer made between 10 per cent and 30 per cent more mistakes on topics such as medical advice and correcting conspiracy theories. They were also 40 per cent more likely to agree with a user’s false beliefs, particularly if the user expressed sadness or vulnerability.
Exclusive
6 min read
LIFESTYLE
6 min read
‘Warmth may come at cost of accuracy’
Researchers said the findings, published in Nature, suggest that training AI platforms to be warm “may come at a cost to accuracy, and that warmth and accuracy may not be independent by default”.
“As these systems are deployed at an unprecedented scale and take on intimate roles in people’s lives, this trade-off warrants attention from developers, policymakers and users alike,” they added.
SCIENCE
8 min read
Caption: Pigeons fly around a woman who is feeding birds at St George’s Park, Bristol, in cold, but sunny Spring weather. PA Photo. Picture date: Tuesday April 14, 2020. See PA story WEATHER Spring. Photo credit should read: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
Photographer: Ben Birchall
Provider: PA
Source: PA
SCIENCE
Urban birds fear women more than men
Birds in urban areas are more scared of women than they are of men, scientists have discovered.
The findings have defied the expectations of researchers, who hypothesised that birds would perceive men as more threatening than women.
What methods did researchers use?
Caption: A pigeon drinks at a public fountain during a heatwave, in Mulhouse, eastern France, on August 22, 2023. (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON / AFP) (Photo by SEBASTIEN BOZON/AFP via Getty Images)
Photographer: SEBASTIEN BOZON
Provider: AFP via Getty Images
Source: AFP
Men and women were paired monitored as they walked towards pigeons, starlings and other birds in green spaces.
Participants were matched according to their height and clothing, and hair was hidden if longer than a partner’s.
Photographer: Andrew_Howe
Provider: Getty Images
Source: E+
Caption: Close up of wild city pigeons in sunny day on asphalt.
Photographer: Olena Ruban
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Moment RF
Researchers tested whether birds perceived female versus male observers differently in five European countries.
What did the study show?
The birds allowed men to get a metre closer than women in the study, only taking flight when male participants were 7.5 metres away. Birds were less tolerant of women across the five countries in the study: Czech Republic, Poland, Germany and Spain and France. And this behaviour was observed in all 37 bird species in the research.
LIFESTYLE
5 min read
HOMES AND GARDENS
3 min read
What did scientists conclude?
Researchers have described the findings as unexpected. Based on the results, one possible explanation is that in hunter-gatherer societies “women, if they hunted, could have focused more on smaller prey, while males hunted mainly larger prey”.
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 18: A woman feeds birds under a tree at a park during warm weather in London, United Kingdom on April 18, 2026. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer: Anadolu
Provider: Anadolu via Getty Images
Source: Anadolu
Caption: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM – APRIL 02: A view of ducklings at St. James Park in London, United Kingdom on April 02, 2026. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Photographer: Anadolu
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Source: Anadolu
But they said further research is needed to understand the phenomenon.
The hotspots where it’s most difficult to sell your home
The average length of time to sell a home is just a day longer than a year ago despite
higher mortgages,
although in London homes are taking nearly a week longer
to be snapped up typically, according to a property website.
Caption: Estate agents ‘for sale’ and ‘let’ signs outside residential properties in Guildford, UK, on Monday, July 28, 2025. The number of UK home loans given the green light rose to a three-month high in June, as the housing market continued to shake off the impact of April’s tax hike.??Photographer: Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Photographer: Bloomberg
Provider: Bloomberg via Getty Images
Source: Bloomberg
Copyright: ? 2025 Bloomberg Finance LP
A closer look at the figures
33 days
Across the UK, the average time to sell a home is 33 days, just one day longer than last year.
6 days
The London area stands out as being particularly affected by recent events, with the average home there taking six days longer to sell than a year ago, the report found.
The locations on the list of hotspots
Here is how long on average it takes to sell a home, according to Zoopla analysis of the seven weeks to 17 April, 2025 and the seven weeks to 17 April, 2026:
Scotland – 15, 15
North East – 28, 28
Yorkshire and the Humber – 31, 31
North West – 28, 31
Wales – 34, 34
West Midlands – 33, 34
South West – 36, 35
East Midlands – 37, 37
East of England – 35, 38
South East – 37, 39
London – 35, 41
Caption: LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 30: People lok at houses for sale in an estate agents window in Mayfair on October 30, 2025 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by John Keeble/Getty Images)
Photographer: John Keeble
Provider: Getty Images
Source: Getty Images Europe
Copyright: 2025 John Keeble
What do experts say?
Mortgage rates are drifting lower and there is greater choice of homes for sale
The best-value homes are moving quickly, particularly in northern cities and Scotland, whereas the room for negotiation is greater across southern regions,” Richard Donnell, executive director of Zoopla said.
The President said: “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent [Iran], and we’re never going to let that opponent ever – Charles agrees with me even more than I do – we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”
Buckingham Palace clarified that Charles had simply reflected UK Government policy when it came to Iran and nuclear weapons, rather than offer any support for current US foreign policy.
“The King is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation,” said a Palace spokesperson.
‘Very poor form’: Trump accused of breaking protocol
One royal source told The i Paper: “He went off script. I was flabbergasted that he said that,” complaining that Trump’s remark could be interpreted as implying that the King supported the US mission against Iran.
“It was very poor form to put the King in that situation,” they added.
Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper is understood to have accompanied the King into the Oval Office for the meeting on Tuesday, so it appears very unlikely that Charles would have said anything at odds with the UK Government’s stance on Iran.
“The King would never express a personal view that contradicted British Government policy in that sort of meeting,” the same source said.
A former senior royal aide said of Trump: “That was a bit naughty. He shouldn’t do that. But it’s a small thing really in the greater scheme of things.” They suggested the most the King might have done was smile politely and maintain a diplomatic silence when Trump discussed his views on the war.
King Charles III and US President Donald Trump arrive for the state dinner at the White House (Photo: Aaron Chown/PA)
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams recalled previous controversies – such as former Conservative prime minister David Cameron revealing that Queen Elizabeth II had been “purring” down the phone about Scotland voting against independence.
Fitzwilliams said Trump had “broken protocol” in a similar way, and warned that the President could continue to make remarks suggesting some level of tacit support from King Charles on Iran.
“It’s impossible to know what Trump would treat as an established fact,” he added. “We’ve yet to see the aftermath [of Charles’s US state visit], and what he [Trump] says subsequently.”
UK will smooth over remarks with allies
Dr Craig Prescott, an expert in UK constitutional law and politics at Royal Holloway, University of London, said Trump’s Iran remarks were “a little bit awkward – but it could have been worse”.
“Supporting the idea that Iran shouldn’t get nuclear weapons, and supporting what Trump has done in Iran, are two different things,” said Prescott, adding that it need not cause any problems with British allies.
“You can’t control Trump, so potentially he could over-claim [about support from Charles for Iran policy]. I would have though it will be very easy to explain to allies. They know you have to take whatever Trump says with a pinch of salt.”
Charles and Trump had a private meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty)
Professor Andrew Moran, head of international relations at London Metropolitan University, said the Iran comment was a “point of awkwardness”. He added: “I think Trump is trying to suggest that he has some form of royal approval for his actions. Trump might try to overinterpret whatever Charles has said [in future].”
The diplomatic expert added that the President might “try to get mileage out of this”, but he did not think it would be damaging for Charles or No 10: “The Palace will continue to reiterate the message it has put out.”
Charles used to ‘speaking frankly in confidence’
The King was thought to have used his private Oval Office meeting with Trump as his main opportunity to get key British messages across.
Although monarchs try to stay above politics, aides say this type of meeting is a chance to speak frankly, in confidence. Charles, like his mother before him, has not been afraid to share his personal opinions or reflect the UK Government’s worldview.
Former aides and British diplomats said the King would have been briefed by the Foreign Office and the UK ambassador in Washington, Sir Christian Turner, on points to discuss. But it is also expected that the monarch expresses his own personal opinions on these occasions.
“He’s been doing this for more than half a century and doesn’t really need to be told how to act in these situations,” one royal source said.
When the two men met in 2019, the then-prince of Wales spoke to Trump about climate change. Last September, on Trump’s second state visit to the UK, the President said the King had mostly wanted to discuss trade. Britain was urging the US to sign a trade deal at the time.
Sir Peter Westmacott, who worked for Charles as a deputy private secretary in the early 90s before going on to be UK ambassador in Washington, suggested the King could have been blunt with Trump.
“He can be pretty blunt if he wants to be, since he is not speaking on behalf of the Government but having a private conversation. He is of course very well informed on a wide range of issues, and the King and President know each other well.”
Diplomatic sources said both the Palace and Foreign Office would continue to emphasise that being opposed to Iran gaining a nuclear weapon had been mainstream UK Government policy for decades.
Lord Kerr, the former UK ambassador to the US, said Trump’s Iran remarks were “not awkward” for Charles. There was widespread understanding that Trump “says a lot of things”.
“The King can cope,” he added.
Sir Keir Starmer has made clear that the UK will not be dragged into the American and Israeli war against Iran, and has said the economic impact of the conflict “will not be easy” for the British public.
However, the PM has condemned the idea of Iran gaining a nuclear weapon. He said in February that Tehran “must never be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon”, adding that it was a “primary aim” of the UK and the US.
Buckingham Palace and the Foreign Office have been contacted for comment.