King Charles and Queen Camilla have been formally welcomed to Washington DC by President Trump with a ceremony at the White House, in which the US leader made a series of unusual comments towards the King
King Charles and Queen Camilla have officially been welcomed to the United States on the second day of their state visit, with a ceremony on the White House lawn.
The King and Queen arrived by car at the event, where they were greeted by the President and First Lady. Taking to the dais on a rainy day in Washington DC, President Trump delivered an address as he expressed his excitement and ‘privilege’ to host Their Majesties for the historic state visit.
During his speech, Trump made a few unusual remarks to the King, before they headed inside for a meeting in the Oval office.
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During Trump’s address, Charles looked coy as the president brought up the crush the president’s mother once had on the young king, as he also acknowledged the late Queen Elizabeth and the very English weather.
Trump’s brag
Following Trump’s address on the White House lawn, Their Majesties, the President and the First Lady stood on the balcony of the South Portico, where they watched a ‘Pass in Review’ of nearly 500 members of the US Armed Forces.
As they waited for the procession to begin, Charles and Trump exchanged words with the band playing in the background. As lip reading expert Jeremy Freeman told the Mirror, Charles turned to Trump and said the display was “wonderful”. Trump responded: “Isn’t it beautiful?”, to which Charles added: “It is very nice indeed.” The US president then spoke of the planning for the event, saying: “So proud that you’re here for this. A lot of good work has gone into it.” Charles simply responded: “Ah.” Trump again added: It is so good, this.”
‘Crush’ confession
During his address, President Trump said his mother had a “crush” on the King when he was younger, causing Charles to coyly blush. Speaking outside the White House, the president said of his mother and the late Queen Elizabeth II: “My mother, I just see it so clearly, she loved, I told the King that she loved the royal family and she loved the Queen, and any time the Queen was involved in the ceremony or anything, my mother would be glued to the television, and she’d say ‘look, Donald, look how beautiful that is’.
“She really did love the family but I also remember her saying very clearly, ‘Charles, look young Charles, he’s so cute’. My mother had a crush on Charles. Can you believe it, amazing how… I wonder what she’s thinking right now?”
Tribute to the late Queen
Trump also paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth in his address, calling her a “very special woman”. Speaking of the relationship between the UK and the US, the president said: “We see today a living symbol of this centuries’ old bond.
“Just a few dozen feet to the left where I stand – there her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, an incredible woman who I had the privilege of getting to know.
“Queen Elizabeth, the second, very, very special woman, who is very greatly missed on both sides of that mighty Atlantic, long ago planted a young tree. It was a very young and beautiful tree and look at it now.”
Very British day
As the ceremonial welcome began, Trump took to the podium decorated with the presidential seal and said, referring to the rainy weather: “Thank you very much everybody. What a beautiful British day this is.”
He added that it was a “tremendous privilege to host” the King and Queen and called the King a “very elegant man”.
The president spoke fondly of the King throughout his speech, and praised the special relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Trump’s break in protocol
During his address, the president spoke of Charles’ upcoming address to Congress, and said he would love to be with the King as he gave his speech.
Trump said: “In a few hours, His Majesty will stand in the heart of the United States Capitol as the very first British King ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
“So he’s going to be addressing Congress, and I’m going to be watching I was thinking of going, but they said ‘I don’t know that might be a step too far’ I would love to go. It’s not supposed to be protocol, but I would love to be with you.”
