Tomorrow, King Charles begins his State Visit to the U.S.; while the trip is his first State Visit to the country as monarch, he has traveled to the country numerous times over the decades. It also marks another chapter in Charles’s interactions with President Donald Trump, who has long had a complicated (and often controversial) relationship with the British royal family.
Trump admires Charles; the two men first publicly met in 2005, when then-Prince Charles visited New York. They reconnected in 2019, when Trump undertook a State Visit to the UK, and privately remained in touch, according to a memoir published by Melania Trump in 2024. “I have a great relationship with King Charles, I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told the Telegraph earlier this month. “He’s a wonderful and brave man, to be honest with you. He’s been through a lot, in many ways.”
Here, a complete timeline of King Charles and Donald Trump’s relationship:
November 2005: Trump and Charles meet in New York.
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Trumps and Charles in 2005 at a reception at the Museum of Modern Art.
In November 2005, then-Prince Charles and Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, visited the U.S. At a reception at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Charles met Donald and Melania Trump; it was Charles and Trump’s first time meeting. “He’s a very special guy,” Trump said at the time of the royal. “People like him really a lot, and they’ve taken New York by storm and everybody’s very happy. Have a good time.”
June 2019: Charles welcomes Trump to the UK during his State Visit.
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Trump and Charles in 2019.
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The two men at Winfield House, 2019.
In 2019, President Trump traveled to the UK for a state visit. Then-Prince Charles welcomed him at Buckingham Palace and hosted him for a tea at Clarence House. Charles and Camilla also attended a dinner at Winfield House hosted by the Trumps.
“He is really into climate change, and I think that’s great. I mean, I want that. I like that,” Trump told ITV about his tea with Charles at Clarence House. “What he really wants, and what he really feels warmly about, is the future. He wants to make sure future generations have climate that is good climate, as opposed to a disaster. And I agree.” But, Trump added, he still wasn’t sure about climate change. “I believe that there’s a change in weather, and I think it changes both ways,” he said, echoing talking points by climate deniers.
2019 to present: Charles stays in touch with the Trumps.
A Clarence House spokesperson subsequently told CNN that Trump and the Prince developed a “good working relationship” following Trump’s State Visit.
Later, in her memoir titled simply Melania, Melania Trump opened up about their 2019 trip to the UK. She wrote, “As we bid farewell to Her Majesty, we extended a cordial invitation for her return visit to the United States. She expressed her gratitude with a warm smile. Sadly, Her Majesty wasn’t able to visit with us again before her death in 2022, but our friendship with the Royal Family continues, and we exchange letters with King Charles to this day.”
In April 2026, a “diplomatic source” told the Telegraph that Trump and King Charles were in “regular correspondence, often writing letters to each other.”
May 2023: Trump congratulates Charles ahead of the King’s coronation.
“Good Luck and Best Wishes to the wonderful new King and Queen of The United Kingdom. You are two very Special People,” he wrote on social media. “May your Reign be a Long and Glorious One. GOD BLESS YOU BOTH!!!”
He also criticized the fact that President Joe Biden did not attend the coronation, and only First Lady Jill Biden went. Trump posted on Truth Media, “Joe Biden should have been at the Coronation of King Charles III. Is that really so much to ask? The people of the U.K. are greatly insulted. No wonder we are losing support all over the World. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” (No U.S. president has ever attended a British coronation.)
July 2024: Charles writes privately to Trump.
Buckingham Palace confirmed that the King wrote privately to Trump following an assassination attempt during the summer of 2024. The sentiments, T&C understood, were in keeping with those communicated by the UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, who wrote he was “appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump’s rally and we send him and his family our best wishes. Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack.”
February 2025: Charles invites Trump to the UK.
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Trump displays an invite from Charles at the White House on February 27, 2025 in Washington, DC
In February, when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House, he extended an invitation to President Donald Trump for a state visit. “Isn’t it beautiful? He’s a beautiful man, a wonderful man,” Trump told Starmer about Charles. “We look forward to being there and honoring the king.”
April 2025: Trump calls Charles a friend.
A few moths later, Trump spoke about the upcoming visit. “I was invited by the King and the country—great country,” Trump told reporters at the White House a few months later, in April 2025. “They’re going to do a second, as you know, a second fest… that’s what it is: a fest, and it’s beautiful, and it’s the first time it’s ever happened to one person.” He added, “And the reason is we have two separate terms, and it’s an honor… I’m a friend of Charles, I have great respect for King Charles and the family, William, we have really just a great respect for the family.”
September 2025: Trump undertakes an unprecedented second state visit to the UK.
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Trump and Charles in a carriage during the carriage procession during the State Visit.
Ahead of his flight to the UK, Trump said of Charles and Camilla, “They’re friends of mine for a long time, long before he was King, and it’s an honor to have him as King. I think he represents the country so well, I’ve watched. He’s such an elegant gentleman.”
Upon his arrival, Trump again said, “he’s been a friend of mine for a long time, and everybody respects him, and they love him.” And then, during the state banquet, Trump praised Charles as “a very, very special man,” and said being in the UK was “one of the highest honors of my life.”
February 2026: Trump comments on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
“I think it’s a shame,” Trump said following the arrest of the former prince on suspicion of misconduct in public office. “I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. To me, it’s a very sad thing.” Trump added he views King Charles as a fantastic person “who’s obviously coming to our country very soon.”
April 2026: Charles is set to visit the U.S.
“I like him. I always liked him as a prince. He’s a good man, a great representative for your country,” Trump told the Telegraph of Charles ahead of the State Visit. “I think he would have taken a very different stand [on the war in Iran] but he doesn’t do that. I mean, he’s a great gentleman.”
In a separate interview, Trump told the BBC of Charles, “He’s a fantastic man… I know him well, I’ve known him for year. He’s a brave man, and he’s a great man.”
Emily Burack (she/her) is the Deputy Digital Editor for Town & Country, where she covers entertainment, celebrities, the royals, and a wide range of other topics. Before joining T&C, she was the deputy managing editor at Hey Alma, a Jewish culture site. Follow her @emburack on Instagram, Twitter, and other social media platforms.