King Charles US visit live: Buckingham Palace responds after Trump claims King backed him over Iran nuclear weapons

Donald Trump has insisted that the King shares his conviction that Iran must never be permitted to develop nuclear weapons, a claim likely to cause unease within royal circles given the monarch’s constitutional neutrality.

The US President made the remarks during a White House state dinner held in honour of the visiting King and Queen Camilla, following bilateral discussions earlier in the day.

As head of state, the King traditionally remains above party politics, making Mr Trump’s public declaration of his views potentially embarrassing for royal aides.

Speaking at the white-tie event on Tuesday evening, Mr Trump stated: “We’re doing a little Middle East work right now… and we’re doing very well.

“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. They know that, and they’ve known it right now, very powerfully.”

An US ambassador has said King Charles’ visit has given “much-needed breathing space” for the UK-US relationship.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sir David Manning, former UK ambassador to the US, said Charles has done “extremely well” to deliver key messages amid a “strained relationship”.

He said among the messages the King wanted to get across was the idea “that we’re much stronger together than we are apart and that we must accept that we won’t always agree on everything and work through those differences”.

He added Charles had also referred to the “values” that underpin our system including “checks and balances”.

“I think it will stabilise things,” he said. “I have no doubt that it has given the relationship much-needed breathing space.”

Buckingham Palace has responded after Donald Trump said King Charles “agrees” with him that Iran should not be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.

His comments came during a formal dinner at the White House on Tuesday, concluding the second day of the royal’s visit to the US.

Sky News reports that a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The King is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”

King Charles and Queen Camilla will visit New York during the third day of their royal visit to the US.

The pair are expected to begin their visit with a trip to the 9/11 memorial at around 1pm on Wednesday.

Queen Camilla will then visit the New York Public library to gift a specially-made toy of Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to its permanent treasures collection at around 2pm.

Meanwhile, the King will travel to Harlem to attend a community event, according to the Press Association.

He will later attends a UK-US trade and business event at around 4:30pm before rejoining Camilla for a UK-US cultural reception at around 5:15pm.

The second day of King Charles’ four-day US visit is coming to an end. The British monarch’s day was busy as it began with a meeting with Donald Trump and was followed by his historic address to Congress, concluding with a state dinner at the White House.Here’s how the second day of the visit unfolded:

Trump hosted King Charles at the White House with a speech celebrating the evolution of US-UK ties. In his South Lawn remarks, he paid tribute to his late parents – noting his mother’s British roots – and reiterated his admiration for the royal family, even jokingly calling the King “cute.”

King Charles delivered a speech to a joint meeting of Congress, opening with a reference to Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, stressing that such violence “will never succeed.” He also honoured Queen Elizabeth II, praised Nato, underscored the enduring US–UK partnership, and reminded lawmakers that American influence carries “weight and meaning.”

The White House on social media shared a photo of Trump and Charles with the caption “TWO KINGS.” Trump and his allies have repeatedly objected to the “No Kings” protests against his administration, saying that he is not a king, and this week have accused critics of the president of fanning flames of anger that have led to attempts on his life.

The evening’s state dinner drew a wide-ranging guest list – from British royals and cabinet members to media personalities and business leaders. In his toast, Trump highlighted the “special relationship” between the two countries. Charles, in turn, added humour with a quip about Trump’s proposed East Wing ballroom, and presented him with a bell from a former British Navy submarine – a symbolic nod to military cooperation.

Trump was working his way through meandering remarks at the end of a formal arrival ceremony on the South Lawn when he segued from meditating on the deep friendship that has developed between the U.S. and U.K. over the 250 years since American independence to his Scottish-born mother, Mary McLeod Trump’s admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As Trump noted how his mother had emigrated from Scotland to the U.S. at age 19 and entered into what would be a 63-year marriage with his father, he turned back to the first lady, who was seated with Queen Camilla behind him.

King Charles met ​with US tech leaders on Tuesday as part of his four-day state visit, discussing challenges for early-stage startups as the UK touts itself as a ⁠top destination for technology firms.

Among the leaders Charles met with were Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Advanced Micro Devices CEO Lisa Su, Salesforce CEO ⁠Marc Benioff and Alphabet President Ruth ​Porat.

Charles ⁠noted issues facing companies formed from work at universities and the difficulty of those startups getting funding. “These ⁠are the people I always think have the ​greatest difficulty ⁠getting off the ground,” ‌he told the CEOs.

“They get into this terrible valley of death.”Huang noted big areas of opportunity, such as ‌AI and quantum robotics: “We just need a ‌vibrant VC ecosystem and a startup culture,” he told the King, referring to venture capital.

Charles responded, “You’re all deadly competitors,” to laughter.

Huang joked ⁠back: “No one has to die.” King Charles responded, “Really?” to more laughter.

Bezos recounted starting Amazon in 1995 and that he struggled to raise $1m from investors, $50,000 at a time, and noted 40 said no.

The King responded, “And all those 40 are kicking themselves,” to wide laughter.

Charles compared people who ‌passed up investing in Amazon to the Harry ​Potter books and how many publishers turned down ‌the book.

King Charles III and Camilla are set to embark on the third day of their historic state visit to the United States, which many hope will repair a weakening “special relationship”.

On Wednesday, Charles and Camilla are due to travel to New York, where they will visit the 9/11 memorial ahead of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

During their visit, they will also meet with first responders and families of those who were killed that day.

As part of a visit to the New York Public Library’s permanent treasures collection, the Queen will give a specially made toy of Winnie-the-Pooh character Roo to the library to complete a set of the beloved characters in one of the institution’s collections.

The library is home to the teddy bears which belonged to Christopher Robin, son of Winnie-the-Pooh creator A A Milne, believed to have inspired the stories first published in 1926.

While Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, Kanga and Eeyore are all on display, the original baby kangaroo toy, Roo, was lost in an apple orchard in the 1930s.

The Roo toy was made specifically for the visit by traditional British teddy bear makers Merrythought, who produced the original toys.