Charles and Camilla arrived in the USA yesterday, where they were met by President Trump and First Lady Melania. The King will give an address to Congress later today

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King Charles and Queen Camilla are in the USA to meet President Donald Trump(Image: Pool/ABACA/Shutterstock)

The King and Queen were greeted by Donald and Melania Trump after landing in the USA for a state visit, just days after an assassination attempt on the US President. Mr Trump and the First Lady escaped unscathed after gunfire was heard at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday evening.

Less than 48 hours later, King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in the USA for a planned state visit marking the 250th anniversary of US independence. The visit comes amid tensions between the UK and America over the conflict in the Middle East.

And the King has been praised for his reaction to a telling moment in which President Trump appeared to attempt his signature ‘power move’ handshake on the monarch. Footage shared on X, formerly Twitter, shows the President and First Lady greeting Charles and Camilla at the White House.

The clip shows Mr Trump reaching out his hand as the King steps out of the car and shaking hands with him. The two then appear to jerk their hands back and forth, suggesting the President is attempting his infamous handshake style, in which grips the person’s hand tightly and sharply pulls them towards him, in what body language experts have said is intended as a show of dominance.

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However, in the clip King Charles appears to be prepared, and does not allow the the President to pull him towards him, pulling his own hand back. People on social media were impressed by the way the monarch dealt with the situation.

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King Charles pictured shaking hands with Donald Trump, obscured in the image by First Lady Melania, at the White House(Image: https://x.com/narindertweets)

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One said: “Proud of King Charles. You can clearly see the tugging in the handshake, the King pulled back more than once as well.” Another said: “The Royals have had far too much practice at hand-shaking for the Orange Lunatic to try that with them.”

Someone else wrote: “He’s a professional, Trump can learn from a real king!” And another said: “Can someone please teach President Trump how to shake hands.”

Mr Trump was also accused of breaking Royal protocol by touching the King on the arm as they walked into the White House. Some believe Royal protocol states no one should initiate physical contact with the monarch. However, the Royal Family’s official website states there is no obligatory code of behaviour when meeting the King.

It says: “The King and Queen meet thousands of people each year in the UK and overseas. Before meeting Their Majesties, many people ask how they should behave. The simple answer is that there are no obligatory codes of behaviour – just courtesy.”

Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: “This touch on the arm as they walked in also looked like a more political gesture. It was also the first real gesture of active, ‘special’ friendship here from a rather more subdued Trump than the very effusive rituals we saw during their last meeting [in September 2025].

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“Charles has always seemed more relaxed about that than his mother, and Trump’s gesture was extremely tempered for Trump. Just a light, tentative and rather polite touch to steer Charles inside.”

The King and Queen attended a garden party at the British embassy in Washington yesterday after meeting the President and the First Lady. Today, Tuesday, they will be given a ceremonial welcome at the White House’s South Lawn, before Charles gives a historic address to a joint meeting on Congress, where he is expected to appeal to Mr Trump to “come together” with the UK and our allies to forge a lasting peace around the world.

In his speech, which is expected to last 20 minutes and written on the advice of the government, the King is set to emphasise that, while the UK and the USA have not always agreed on matters, “time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together”. He will also say the hearts of our two nations contain “a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value people of all faiths and none”.