King Charles III has arrived in the United States for a four-day royal tour tied to the nation’s 250th anniversary of independence from Britain, with a calendar of high-profile events planned throughout the visit.
The King and Queen Camilla began in Washington, DC, where they joined President Trump for afternoon tea. The meeting followed the president’s state visit and banquet at Buckingham Palace last year.
Photographs from the sit-down show the 77-year-old monarch and the 79-year-old president speaking closely over finger sandwiches and small slices of cake. The two have known one another for more than two decades, long before either held their current offices.
Even so, viewers scrutinizing their exchange during a walk on the White House South Lawn believed they spotted a tense moment, prompted by a brief remark and what was later described as an unsettling admission.
“The shooting…” Trump appeared to begin, a little under two days after a 31-year-old California teacher was alleged to have attempted to assassinate him during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
According to professional lip reader Nicola Hickling, the King seemed to halt the discussion, replying: “I’d rather not stand about here too long,” referencing the heightened concerns around political violence and the safety of public figures.
Hickling said the monarch then added: “I feel I shouldn’t be here,” while the pair remained in full view.
Trump was then said to check on the King’s wellbeing before commenting: “It’s not a good thing. I wasn’t prepared, but now I am prepared.”
With the topic seemingly uncomfortable, the president reportedly steered the conversation toward international affairs, telling the King he had recently spoken with Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
“So right now, I am talking to Putin,” Trump is believed to have said, before adding: “He wants war.”
The lip reader claimed the King indicated he would prefer to revisit the subject later, but Trump continued, saying that ‘I’ve got a feeling… if he did what he said, he will wipe out the population.’ The King was then said to try to shut down the exchange again with: “Another time.”
As a royal who has lived in the public eye for decades, King Charles is familiar with security threats and has previously faced multiple alleged assassination attempts.
Among them was a 1969 railway bomb reportedly intended to kill him ahead of his investiture as Prince of Wales; it detonated before his train passed. Fourteen years later, an alleged Irish Republican Army plot aimed at him and Princess Diana during a Duran Duran concert in London was said to have been thwarted after an embedded informant alerted handlers to the plan and those involved.
However, the best-known incident occurred in 1984 during a trip to Australia.
While addressing a large Australia Day crowd, a man ran toward the stage and fired a gun at the then-Prince. The future king did not appear to react, instead calmly adjusting his cufflinks as the shots sounded nearby.