Buckingham Palace issued a brief statement today after some of President Trump’s comments in his speech at the White House State Dinner attracted headlines. Trump cited a conversation with the King, saying that “Charles agrees with me even more than I do” that Iran should never have a nuclear weapon.
“And we're doing a little Middle East work right now too, if you might know, and we're doing very well,” the President said. “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.”
The comments were quickly latched onto as potentially controversial—both because they referenced a private conversation and because they threatened to drag the King into a political issue. However, Buckingham Palace somewhat diffused the situation this morning by putting out a brief statement pointing out that this reflected the UK government’s views. “The King is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation,” a Palace spokesperson said.
Throughout his State Visit, King Charles has been engaged in a tricky balancing act of extending a gesture of long-term friendship while also acknowledging the fractured politics of the day. In his historical speech to Congress yesterday afternoon, he spoke mostly of overarching ties between the U.S. and the UK. However, he did make some specific references to political topics, such as the UK’s defense spending and the importance of NATO. He also quoted Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who Trump has been so critical of.
The speech was written on the advice of the UK government to advance their priorities but with language and tone that was also personal to the King.
