Starmer may regret bringing forward Trump's state visit

Spectator

5 hours ago

One of the most notable features of Keir Starmer's otherwise undistinguished premiership is the bromance that he seems to have formed with King Charles. Both men seem to have a shared sense of moral values and a reticence of character that appears to have served them well in what, up until now, has been a harmonious working relationship. However, the first serious cracks in their partnership might be about to appear, and they come courtesy of none other than Donald Trump.
It was announced earlier this year that the President would be hosted in Britain on a state visit, as he had been in 2019. The major reason for this unprecedented boon being offered was to obtain preferential treatment when it came to trade deals and tariffs, and it appears that playing on both Trump's Anglophilia and sincere love of the royal family has been successful.
Charles is said to be appalled by Trump's musings that Canada should be turned into America's 51st state
However, a difficulty has now ensued. It has been reported – not least by Trump, who has gleefully called it a 'fest' – that the state visit will be taking place relatively soon, in September. This is against the wishes of the King, who would have preferred that if such a visitation needed to take place at all, it would have been a relatively quiet and informal occasion, rather than the full bells-and-whistles pageantry that such a state visit demands.
There are several reasons for this, but the main one is that Charles, who recently conducted a successful trip to Canada, is said to be appalled by Trump's musings that the country – which still honours the King as its sovereign – should be turned into America's 51st state. In the pointed and decidedly political address that he made when he opened Ottawa's parliament last month, Charles declared that the country should stay 'strong and free'. He said
Today, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the government is determined to protect.
This has been echoed in typically wishy-washy fashion by Starmer, who said last week that 'Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and quite right too'. Yet there are murmurings from Buckingham Palace that hosting Trump goes against this rhetoric and that a state visit should have been delayed in order to allow the President to tone down some of his more inflammatory remarks. This has not happened, and the formal document that allows for the state visit to take place, the 'manu regia', was delivered to the White House last week after being signed by the King.
The King had supposedly wished to meet Trump informally first, with the sop that this encounter would allow the two to plan the most successful state visit together. In his invitation to Trump in February, he supposedly wrote, 'that is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options'.
These desires, however, appear to have been steamrollered so that Trump can visit the country once again in a few months and so that Starmer can have his photo opportunities, playing the international statesman once more.
If this comes at the expense of what has been, up until now, a warm and fruitful partnership with the King, then he should reflect on the wisdom – or otherwise – of jeopardising a very different kind of special relationship. As the likes of Blair, Johnson and Truss all learnt, an aggrieved monarch is not a happy one, and the consequences can be regrettable indeed.