There’s a private tea and a garden party. There’ll be two highly scrutinized speeches — one at a state dinner and one to the U.S. Congress.
And after King Charles and Queen Camilla leave Washington, D.C., on their four-day U.S. state visit that begins Monday, there will be a chance for them to focus on interests and causes they often devote time to — even as the trip garners significant attention for the broader circumstances surrounding it.
“If the circumstances were relatively ordinary ones, there would be a lot of focus on the individual engagements, which ones are more formal and which are less so, and also the personalities of the individuals involved,” Toronto-based royal author and historian Carolyn Harris said in an interview.
But the current circumstances can hardly be considered ordinary. Relations are strained between the U.S. and the U.K. right now, particularly over the war in Iran, and in the wake of the repeated and pointed criticisms U.S. President Donald Trump has directed toward both Britain and its prime minister, Keir Starmer.
Still, against that backdrop, there is an itinerary that features many of the hallmarks of any state visit.
The trip — Charles’s first to the U.S. as monarch but his 19th to the country overall — is billed as a chance to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
“The visit will be an opportunity to recognize the shared history of our two nations; the breadth of the economic, security and cultural relationship that has developed since then; and the deep people-to-people connections which unite communities,” Buckingham Palace said when further details of the itinerary were released earlier this month.
Here’s a look at what is expected to unfold before the visit ends Thursday and King Charles heads to Bermuda for his first visit as monarch to a British Overseas Territory.
Arrival in Washington, D.C.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive Monday directly from the U.K.
There are precedents for that direct flight, Harris noted, but a member of the Royal family making an American visit has often arrived there following time in Canada, as was the case for King George VI in 1939, Princess Elizabeth in 1951 or Charles in 1970, after he commemorated the 100th anniversary of the province of Manitoba.
“This is already a very delicate diplomatic mission simply representing the United Kingdom’s interests without the dual nature of the King’s role as King of Canada and King of the United Kingdom being embodied in a single state visit,” Harris said.
A private tea and a garden party
Trump and his wife, Melania, will welcome Charles and Camilla informally at a private tea.
“The private tea allows the King and Queen to spend time speaking with President Trump and first lady Melania Trump within a private context without the press being present and asking questions, as that has created complications for some of the other world leaders who have visited President Trump during his presidency,” said Harris.
The garden party will, Buckingham Palace said, bring together “a wide variety of guests representing the connections between our two countries.”
Harris said it will be interesting to see who attends — for example, are prominent British people in American culture or past diplomats among the guests?
Garden parties are a regular feature of such royal visits — when Charles and his sister, Princess Anne, visited Washington in 1970, the Canadian band the Guess Who performed.
“The press reported that they’d been discreetly asked not to play ‘American woman / stay away from me,'” Harris said. “This seems like a very tame controversy compared to what is happening in the modern context.”
Royal visits emphasize continuity over time, Harris noted, “so it will be interesting to see if there’s anyone present who heard the Guess Who in 1970 who are being invited back in 2026.”
Formal welcome and military review
Ceremonial military reviews are another hallmark of state visits, and in this case it will draw a parallel to the state visit Trump made to the U.K. last September.
“We’re seeing a similar level of ceremony and also there being a strong emphasis on the military alliance historically between the United States and the United Kingdom through two world wars and subsequent events,” Harris said.
“We see this emphasis on this longer partnership and alliance rather than there being a focus on the disagreements that are taking place at the present time.”
Bilateral meeting
Time has been set aside for a bilateral meeting between Trump and Charles. Camilla and Melania Trump will also meet.
Here there are similarities to Trump’s state visit to the U.K. last year.
“Once again, we’re seeing parallels with the events at Windsor Castle where … Melania Trump spent a great deal of time with Queen Camilla and with the Princess of Wales undertaking their own engagement while the King and President Trump spoke with one another,” said Harris.
Address to U.S. Congress
Charles’s speech to the U.S. Congress will be only the second time a British monarch has addressed a joint meeting. His mother, Queen Elizabeth, spoke there during her state visit in 1991.
Queen Elizabeth had a quip and serious comments for members of Congress in this excerpt from a news item from her 1991 state visit to the U.S.
State dinner
Charles and Trump are expected to make speeches during the state dinner— which will attract attention for everything from the guest list to the menu.
“There will be a lot of interest in who is invited and the smaller aspects of this, such as the food that is served. Are we going to see cuisine from across the United States being showcased?” said Harris.
U.S. President Donald Trump is visiting the U.K. as that country’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks to secure a trade deal.
Remembering the fallen
The last item on the itinerary before Charles and Camilla leave Washington for New York City is a stop to lay a wreath and flowers in honour of the fallen. That commemoration also marks “the military partnership between the U.K. and the U.S.,” Buckingham Palace said.
Engagements in New York
The visit takes a turn here, with engagements that focus in many cases on interests or causes Charles and Camilla have long championed.
But first, they will recognize the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks later this year — “a poignant moment in our shared history,” the palace said. Charles and Camilla will meet first responders and families of victims.
Charles will meet a grassroots community organization that mentors children and youth affected by food insecurity. Camilla, who has a longstanding interest in literacy and literature, will attend “an event celebrating both countries’ shared love of literature,” the palace said.
Charles will also meet with business and financial services leaders. He and Camilla will attend a reception focused on the work of his philanthropic initiative, The King’s Trust, “in shaping the lives of young people across America,” the palace said, as well as cultural links between the two countries.
“The itinerary has been designed in a way in which there are moments where President Trump gets to take centre stage and host events,” Harris said, “but if we step backwards, there’s also a lot of emphasis on the connections between the United States and the United Kingdom that are not connected to any individual.”
Engagements in Virginia
The visit concludes with several engagements in Virginia, including a block party to celebrate the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence.
“Both King Charles III and Queen Camilla have been very focused on community building, providing opportunities for people to get to know their neighbours,” said Harris.
Charles will meet one of the area’s Indigenous communities during a visit to a national park, along with people involved “in conservation initiatives and efforts to protect America’s natural environment,” the palace said.
Camilla will highlight the U.S. horse racing industry and its links with the sport in the U.K. during a visit to a farm.
Who isn’t on the itinerary
Attention prior to the visit also focused on who Charles is not likely to see while he’s in the U.S.: his younger son, Prince Harry, who has a strained relationship with his father and lives in California; and victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
The late convicted sex offender’s friendship with former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been at the heart of the scandal swirling around King Charles’s younger brother.
“If Prince Harry and Meghan … were invited to the state dinner, for instance, the press would completely focus on Harry and Meghan, their interactions with King Charles and Queen Camilla, and it would take the focus off the relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Harris.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna had called on Charles to meet privately with survivors of Epstein, but it’s been widely reported that isn’t on the itinerary.
There would be a few challenges in arranging a meeting of that kind, Harris said.
One is the ongoing legal inquiries taking place in the U.K., she said.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation from police custody in mid-February after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
“The King, being the head of state, would not want to influence that investigation in the United Kingdom in any way,” said Harris.
It would also be complicated for King Charles if his itinerary were seen as being shaped by individual politicians wanting this meeting added to the agenda, Harris said.