Watch: Royal family expert reflects on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit
HIS SPEECH IN WASHINGTON. TRACY WILKINS, NBC NEWS. AND WE HAVE A VERY SPECIAL GUEST NOW JOINING US LIVE TO TALK ABOUT THE KING’S VISIT IS ROYAL FAMILY EXPERT AND A FORMER MEMBER OF THE BUCKINGHAM PALACE PRESS CORPS, SUSAN MAXWELL SKINNER. SUSAN, IT’S ALWAYS A JOY TO TALK TO YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR INSIGHT WITH THE ROYAL FAMILY. SO TALK TO US ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VISIT BY KING CHARLES AND QUEEN CAMILLA. IT’S VERY SIGNIFICANT, PARTICULARLY THE TIMING, ALTHOUGH THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN TO A GREAT DEGREE. COINCIDENTAL. BUT IT IS IN TIMES OF GREAT WORLD STRESS, AND IT’S IMPORTANT THAT THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE COUNTRY, THE USA, IS ALLIED WITH THE EUROPEAN ALLIES. AND I THINK CHARLES IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE HIS COUNTRY’S GREATEST AMBASSADOR. AND HE IS SERVING NOT JUST AS KING BUT AS A STATESMAN. ON THIS VISIT. SO THERE’S A LOT OF POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE GOING ON RIGHT NOW, BUT NO DOUBT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE U.S. AND GREAT BRITAIN IS STRANGE. SO DO YOU THINK KING CHARLES HAS THE ABILITY TO SMOOTH THINGS OVER? I THINK SO, YES. HE’S VERY CHARMING, OBVIOUSLY, AND HE’S ACTING WITH GREAT ARTICULATENESS IN HIS SPEECH. HE IS WARMER THAN WE REMEMBER HIM. I MADE THE COMMENT THAT FOR ONCE IN HIS LIFE, HE’S NOT OVERSHADOWED BY A WOMAN. HIS QUEEN CAMILLA, SEEMS VERY CONTENT TO SIT THERE IN THE BACKGROUND, JUST LOOKING HAPPY AND GLORIOUS. AND CHARLES HAS COME INTO HIS OWN AS A STATESMAN. YES, I THINK LIKE MANY PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY, THE PRESIDENT HAS A BIT OF A CRUSH ON ROYALTY, AND I THINK IT WILL SMOOTH THE PATH VERY MUCH TO ALLIANCES AND CONCORD BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES. SO THE KING’S BROTHER’S UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION AMID THE ALLEGATIONS RELATED TO THE EPSTEIN CASE, HOW MUCH HAS THIS TARNISHED THE IMAGE OF THE ROYAL FAMILY? AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE KING HAS MADE NO MENTION OF THE EPSTEIN SITUATION. NOT COMMENTED AT ALL. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WOULD HAVE ALSO BEEN THE CASE BACK WHEN YOU WERE IN THE THE PALACE PRESS CORPS? ABSOLUTELY. THE ROYAL FAMILY DOES NOT DISCUSS CONTROVERSIAL MATTERS. WELL, MAYBE CHARLES WILL BE DIFFERENT BECAUSE HE’S DONE A FEW DIFFERENT THINGS TODAY. BUT I CAN ASSURE YOU HE WILL NOT BE TALKING PUBLICLY ABOUT HIS BROTHER’S DISGRACE. KING HAS ACTED. HE’S ACTED AS WELL AS HE COULD UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES. HE’S COMPLETELY ISOLATED HIS BROTHER FROM PUBLIC LIFE. HE STRIPPED HIM OF HIS HONORS, HIS MILITARY. ASSOCIATIONS. HE’S DONE EVERYTHING HE CAN TO SHOW THAT THE ROYAL FAMILY THOROUGHLY DISAPPROVES OF THE ACTIONS OF THIS MAN. AND I THINK CHARLES’S POPULARITY HOPEFULLY WON’T SUFFER TOO GRATEFULLY, TOO GREATLY FROM THE SINS OF HIS BROTHER. SO LET’S TALK ABOUT THE LAST STATE VISIT BY A MONARCH THAT WAS QUEEN ELIZABETH ALMOST 20 YEARS AGO. IN 2007. HOW HAS THE MONARCHY CHANGED OVER THE YEARS? WELL, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, I WAS ON THAT VISIT. THE MONARCHY HAS CHANGED VERY MUCH. SO AS THE POINT I MADE ABOUT CHARLES BEING SO MUCH MORE COMFORTABLE IN HIS ROLE RIGHT NOW, NOT BEING OVERSHADOWED BY WHAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN TRADITIONALLY DURING HIS LIFETIME. YOUR LIFETIME AND MY LIFETIME. AN INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WOMAN. AND THEN HE GOES AND MARRIES ANOTHER INCREDIBLY POWERFUL WOMAN, AND HE’S BEEN STUCK IN THE BACKGROUND. FOR ONCE, IT’S ALL ABOUT HIM. AND I THINK HIS SPEECH TODAY, WHETHER HE IS AS ARTICULATE AS HE APPEARED OR HE’S GOT A FANTASTICALLY GOOD SPEECH WRITER, DOES SHOW HIM AS A CONFIDENT, STRONG MAN, NOT AFRAID TO BE A LITTLE BIT OUTSPOKEN ABOUT THIS AND THAT IN IN TERMS OF, WELL, MAKING HIS OPINIONS KNOWN. AND I THINK ONE THING HE’S PROBABLY NOT USED TO IS THE STANDING OVATIONS AND THE. ADULATION FROM THE CONGRESS. THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN IN THE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. HE IS NOT TREATED LIKE A CELEBRITY OR A ROCK STAR. HE IS A SERIOUS PERSON. I THINK I WAS LOOKING AT HIS FACE DURING THE SPEECH TODAY, AND HE SEEMED QUITE BEMUSED BY IT ALL. ALL THE INTERRUPTIONS FOR APPLAUSE AND STANDING OVATIONS WAS REALLY, I THINK, A NEW THING FOR HIM. BUT I’M SURE HE CAN GET USED TO THAT. ALL RIGHT. SUSAN MAXWELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOU
Watch: Royal family expert reflects on King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit
Updated: 7:23 PM PDT Apr 28, 2026
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Susan Maxwell Skinner, a royal family expert and former member of the Buckingham Palace press corps, joined the KCRA 3 News on Tuesday to discuss the significance of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit. Charles became the second British monarch to address a joint session of Congress after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered a speech in 1991. He condemned the violence at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and called for “unyielding resolve” in support of Ukraine in its war with Russia. That address came after the king met with President Donald Trump at the White House. Skinner noted that the visit coincided with “times of great world stress.” “I think Charles is always going to be his country’s greatest ambassador, and he’s serving not just as king but as a statesman on this visit,” she said.See her full comments in the video above. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
Susan Maxwell Skinner, a royal family expert and former member of the Buckingham Palace press corps, joined the KCRA 3 News on Tuesday to discuss the significance of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit.
Charles became the second British monarch to address a joint session of Congress after his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, delivered a speech in 1991.
He condemned the violence at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and called for “unyielding resolve” in support of Ukraine in its war with Russia.
That address came after the king met with President Donald Trump at the White House.
Skinner noted that the visit coincided with “times of great world stress.”
“I think Charles is always going to be his country’s greatest ambassador, and he’s serving not just as king but as a statesman on this visit,” she said.
See her full comments in the video above.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel