King Charles III began the opening day of his first state trip to the United States since becoming monarch with a visible display of the two nations’ ‘special relationship’ — along with a few understated digs aimed at President Trump.
Proceedings kicked off outside the White House with a very public handshake moment between the King and the President. Trump’s trademark attempt to take control of the greeting didn’t appear to unsettle Charles, who has been meeting crowds and greeting well-wishers for decades.
As the schedule moved on, the tone stayed notably cordial. The 77-year-old King and the 79-year-old President exchanged complimentary remarks that leaned on the countries’ long-standing cultural ties and shared history.
The day’s most talked-about gesture came in the form of a symbolic present. King Charles, who has known Trump for around two decades, reportedly handed him an oversized brass bell engraved with his name — a gift that landed as both meaningful and faintly pointed.
While the bell may not match the financial scale of other high-profile diplomatic gifts Trump has received — such as Qatar’s reported offer of a Boeing 747 — its value lies in the story attached to it rather than its price tag.
The bell is said to have come from a British World War Two submarine named the H.M.S. Trump. During the conflict, the vessel served in the Royal Navy’s efforts to protect key sea routes as Britain and the United States mobilised against the spread of Nazism across Europe.
More to follow.