Donald Trump has claimed that King Charles agrees with him that Iran should never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. The US president made the remarks during a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, following bilateral talks with the monarch earlier that day. The comments are likely to cause embarrassment for royal aides, as the King typically remains neutral on political matters.
Speaking at the white-tie event, Trump said: 'We’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon. Charles agrees with me even more than I do.' The King’s views, however, are not publicly known on such matters, and Buckingham Palace responded by stating that the monarch is 'mindful of his government’s longstanding and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.'
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey had previously called for the King’s state visit to be cancelled, fearing Trump might embarrass the monarch. Trump has been critical of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over the UK’s approach to the Iran war, describing it as 'terrible' and calling Starmer 'no Winston Churchill'.
In his own speech at the dinner, King Charles appeared to reference the need to repair the 'special relationship' between the UK and US, drawing parallels with his mother Queen Elizabeth II’s visit in 1957 after the Suez crisis. He said, 'Nearly 70 years on, it is hard to imagine anything like that happening today.' The King also addressed Congress on Tuesday, highlighting the importance of Nato and support for Ukraine.
