King Charles has invited U.S. President Donald Trump for an “unprecedented” second state visit to the United Kingdom.
On Feb. 27, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer presented Trump, 78, with a letter from the King, 76, inviting him for an official visit. The moment unfolded during a press conference in the Oval Office at the White House, and Trump accepted the invitation on the spot.
“He’s a beautiful man and a wonderful man. We appreciate. I’ve gotten to know him very well actually. First term and now a second term,” the president said in a video shared on X. “Perhaps you’d like to say what that very important paragraph…” and handed the premier the letter.
Starmer, the leader of the Labour Party, said, “Yeah, so this is a letter from His Majesty the King. It’s an invitation for a second state visit.”
“This is really special. This has never happened before, this is unprecedented,” the prime minister continued. “I think that just symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us. This is a very special letter, I think the last state visit was a tremendous success. His Majesty the King wants to make this visit even better than that, so this is truly historic. An unprecedented second state visit, he wants to talk that through with you.”
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 27, 2025.
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Trump remarked that the letter “says at Windsor,” which he described “really something.”
Starmer, 62, said yes and asked, “What I haven’t gotten yet is your answer?” which made the room laugh.
“The answer is yes, on behalf of our wonderful first lady, Melania, and myself, the answer is yes,” replied Trump, who entered office for his second term on Jan. 20. “We look forward to being there and honoring the King, honoring your country. Your country is a fantastic country, and it will be an honor to be there.”
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Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 27, 2025.
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A date was not announced for the proposed state visit.
Trump becomes the first elected political leader in modern times to be invited for two state visits by a British monarch.
Queen Elizabeth first invited Trump for a state visit to the U.K. after he was sworn into office during his first term in 2017, but the official state trip was repeatedly postponed amid speculation over the protests he might face, The New York Times reported at the time. In addition to other controversies surrounding his relationship with Great Britain, Trump sparked backlash in June 2017 after he criticized London’s mayor in the wake of a terror attack there.
Queen Elizabeth met Trump and Melania on July 13, 2018, at Windsor Castle, where the American president made waves by walking in front of the monarch while inspecting the Guard of Honor, widely interpreted as a breach of protocol around the sovereign.
The state visit came to fruition in June 2019 and coincided with the 75th anniversary of D-Day then. The state banquet of the Trumps’ state visit was memorably attended by Queen Elizabeth, then-Prince Charles, the future Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle — who had welcomed their first child, son Prince Archie, the month prior — did not attend the diplomatic dinner.
Trump connected with some of the British royals again at the NATO 70th anniversary reception at Buckingham Palace that December.
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Melania Trump, Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth, Charles and Camilla at Buckingham Palace in London on Dec. 3, 2019.
In July 2024, it emerged that King Charles sent a letter to Trump after he was shot in an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania. Trump went on to win the 2024 presidential election on the Republican ticket against Kamala Harris, and crossed paths with Prince William at the ceremonial reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in December 2024.
The Prince of Wales, 42, represented his father at the ceremony as he further his role as a global statesman, and Trump later relayed that he was charmed by William when they met one-on-one at the U.K. Ambassador’s Residence.
“I asked him about his wife, and he said she’s doing well. And I asked him about his father and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad,” Trump told The New York Post at the time about meeting William. He was seemingly referring to Princess Kate and King Charles’ cancer diagnoses, both announced in 2024. The Princess of Wales has since shared that she is in “remission,” while the King’s treatment is continuing into this year.
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Donald Trump and Prince William at the U.K. Ambassador’s Residence on the day of the reopening ceremonies of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Dec. 7, 2024.
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“We had a great talk for half an hour, a little more than half an hour. We had a great, great talk,” Trump said, adding that William looked well and “very handsome.”
“He’s a good-looking guy. He looked really, very handsome last night,” he told the Post. “Some people look better in person? He looked great. He looked really nice, and I told him that.”
“I had a great talk with the prince,” Trump said about the time they spent together.
State visits are arranged as a way for Britain to maintain strong bonds with other countries and are organized in both outward and incoming formats. There’s plenty of pomp and circumstance to the traditional schedules, which typically include a ceremonial welcome at Horse Guards Parade, Guard of Honor inspection, state banquet at Buckingham Palace, speeches and meetings with leaders over a few following days.
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