LONDON: Britain’s King Charles III and wife Queen Camilla wrapped up their diplomatically sensitive state visit to the United States on Thursday.

Here are five takeaways from their four days in America.

Opposites attract

Despite being polar opposites in character, Charles and President Donald Trump appeared to share a genuine bonhomie.

Charles laughed, albeit slightly embarrassingly, when Trump said in a speech at the White House that his Scottish-born mother had had a crush on the then-prince.

The monarch was also photographed laughing in the Oval Office when Trump reached out and patted his knee. Protocol dictates that it is unconventional to touch a member of the royal family.

“There’s a personal rapport, because I thi­nk Charles is a very skilled diplomat,” roy­al commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told AFP.

The joker

Charles showed off his cheeky side when he cracked a number of jokes during the state dinner, which landed well with a receptive audience.

He likened Trump’s demolition of the East Wing to British troops setting fire to the White House in 1814 and ahead of this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada, quipped that he and Trump were “joint hosts”.

The British monarch is also Canada’s head of state, and the remark could be seen as a subtle reminder to Trump, who has soured relations with his neighbour to the north after last year threatening to make it the “51st state”.

Charles also referenced how Trump has said if it was not for the United States, then European countries would be speaking German, adding: “Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French.”

Points scored

During a separate speech to Congress, the king politely delivered several pointed messages from the UK government amid tensions with Trump over the wars in Ukraine and Iran.

Charles urged the United States to stand firm with its Western allies, adding that “unyielding resolve” was needed to secure a “just and lasting peace” in Ukraine.

Trump has berated European leaders in recent weeks for their failure to back his and Israel’s war against Iran and has threatened to pull the United States out of NATO.

Charles — the commander-in-chief of the UK armed forces — also spoke of his pride at Britain’s Royal Navy in which he served, which was recently mocked by Trump.

Awkward moments

Trump set a cat among the pigeons when he claimed that Charles “would have probably helped” the United States in its military offensive against Iran.

The president has repeatedly lambasted the UK for failing to join the initial strikes and has branded Prime Minister Keir Starmer as weak and indecisive.

Trump also claimed that Charles had agreed with him on the need to prevent Tehran from getting a nuclear bomb. Conversations with the monarch are usually kept private.

Before meeting in New York, the city’s leftist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, called on Charles to “return” the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond.

Rift repaired?

While the Times newspaper hailed Charl­es’s performance as a “masterclass in effective diplomacy”, it remains to be seen wheth­­er the trip will help repair relations between Trump and Starmer, as British officials hope.

In an initial sign of improved US-UK ties, Trump announced Thursday he was removing tariffs on Scottish whisky in honour of the departing royals and the state visit.

Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank, told AFP the four-day trip “may buy the UK some temporary reprieve from Trump”.

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026