President Donald Trump has been accused of breaching royal protocol during King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit to the United States after a controversial remark at a state dinner. During his speech, Trump suggested the monarch supported his position on Iran, stating: “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, 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.”
The comment sparked immediate criticism, with a royal source telling The i: “He went off script. I was flabbergasted that he said that... It was very poor form to put the King in that situation.” Buckingham Palace later responded by saying: “The King is naturally mindful of his Government's long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”
BBC diplomatic correspondent James Landale suggested the incident was unlikely to have lasting consequences, noting that the King may have only been reflecting the longstanding position of his governments. He wrote: “Supporting that policy, largely through diplomacy and economic sanctions, is not the same as endorsing what some consider to be an illegal and ill-conceived war on the Islamic republic.”
The exchange has raised questions over whether it could affect the success of the state visit amid ongoing tensions over US military action against Iran. Former Middle East adviser Brett McGurk downplayed the immediate impact but noted that Britain’s limited hard power remains a constraint, adding: “If the King's speech could actually translate into some shared interests and burden sharing, there is an opportunity.”
