King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in the United States for a four-day state visit.
The King and Queen touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland mid-afternoon, greeting representatives of both countries’ governments and receiving posies from children of UK military personnel stationed in the United States.
After this brief programme, the royal couple departed via motorcade for Washington, D.C. and tea with President Trump and First Lady Trump.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were received by the presidential couple at the South Portico of the White House for a photo op; as the foursome posed for cameras, the President could be seen pointing out a tree believed to have been planted by the late Queen Elizabeth II during her 1991 state visit.
After spending double the time originally planned on their private tea, the royal couple was given a tour of the White House’s gardens and bee colony by First Lady Melania Trump. A recently installed beehive in the shape of the White House was placed in the grounds, another initiative of the beekeeping programme the presidential home launched in 2009.
Their final engagement of the day saw King Charles and Queen Camilla at a garden party at the British Ambassador’s residence—the first since the reign of King George VI in 1939.
At the garden party, King Charles and Queen Camilla viewed a time capsule that has been created to mark the United States’s 250th anniversary, and to which they will contribute a special coin from the Royal Mint. The King will also contribute a written proclamation.
Once complete, this time capsule will be placed under the Washington Monument and not opened until 2276. A time capsule was buried in London last summer under a statue of George Washington in Trafalgar Square as a launch event for the UK/US’s 250th anniversary celebrations.
The royal couple were joined by more than 600 guests at the British Ambassador’s residence, from the world of politics and organisations close to Their Majesties’ hearts, including sustainability, domestic violence awareness and the creative industries.
King Charles and Queen Camilla begin a robust programme of events on Tuesday, including the King’s Joint Address to Congress, only the second time a British monarch has received the honour following Queen Elizabeth II.
The royal couple will also spend time in New York and Virginia while in the United States before heading to Bermuda for their first Royal Visit to a British Overseas Territory since King Charles’s accession.
