Buckingham Palace has confirmed that the State Visit to the United States by King Charles and Queen Camilla will go ahead as planned after a day of talks following a shooting at a dinner attended by President Trump.
The incident happened at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday evening with several shots fired and the suspected gunman getting to within 100 yards of President Trump.
Buckingham Palace said that ”following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, we can confirm the State Visit by Their Majesties will go ahead as planned. The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the Visit getting underway tomorrow.”
Just hours before that, Donald Trump said that King Charles was still on his way to the US for a State Visit, despite the shooting.
President Trump spoke to Fox News hours after gunshots were fired at the Correspondents Dinner at the Washington Hilton, with security rushing the US leader out of the room as other guests were told to get under their tables.
One suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, is under arrest.
The shots were fired just 100 yards away from President Trump.
Following the incident, questions were raised about whether the State Visit, set to start on April 27, would continue as planned.
Buckingham Palace said ”a number of discussions” would be taking place about whether planning for the visit had been affected by the incident.
However, Donald Trump was certain that all would go ahead and told Fox News ”first of all, King Charles is coming and he’s a great guy and we look forward to it.”
The US leader continued with his praise for The King, who he has spoken of admiringly often, saying ”he’s really a fantastic person and a tremendous representative.”
He also spoke about The King’s ”well documented problem with his health”, saying ”he’s been amazing, he’s very brave actually…and he’s a friend of mine for a long time and he’s coming and we’re going to have a great time and he represents his nation as nobody else can do.”
The King’s State Visit to the US comes as the country prepares to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Charles III is expected to address Congress during his three day visit.
There will also be a State Banquet in honour of King Charles and Queen Camilla while a garden party is also expected to take place. After the visit to the US, The King will continue on to Bermuda for a solo official visit.
This is the first State Visit by a British Monarch in almost 20 years. Queen Elizabeth II carried out her last State Visit in 2007 when she was hosted by George W Bush.
This latest trip follows the historic second State Visit to the UK by Donald Trump, the first time an elected leader has been given two such visits. He was hosted, along with Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle by King Charles and Queen Camilla.
The visit is seen as crucial as the UK works on the ”special relationship” with the US.
