The King’s reach: How Charles can help sway Trump on state visit

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London: When British prime ministers need help, they can call on a power few others can match – and mobilise the monarchy.

King Charles and the royal family will be put to the nation’s service this week when US President Donald Trump stays over at Windsor Castle as part of an official state visit.

Melania Trump and her husband US President Donald Trump; King Charles; Catherine, the Princess of Wales; and Prince William.

Only the King can bring the full honours needed to impress Trump with the glory of the monarchy and convince him that British interests are aligned with his.

Sir Keir Starmer is leaving nothing to chance. The prime minister has just had a political fortnight from hell and badly needs a successful Trump visit to spin his way out of a spiral of bad news.

One year after he was elected, Starmer presides over a weak economy that offers no growth despite his promise to revive the country after 14 years of Conservative rule. He is struggling to stop asylum seeker arrivals and is the target of regular protests against migration.

The prime minister tried to revive his fortunes by promising “phase two” of his government this month, only to get vacuumed into a vortex of bad news.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivered a letter from King Charles to US President Donald Trump in February

He lost his deputy prime minister, Angela Rayner, on September 5 in a scandal over her property taxes. He sacked his ambassador to the US, Lord Peter Mandelson, last Thursday after emails revealed the closeness of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He removed a top aide, Paul Ovenden, on Monday over inappropriate personal emails.

The domestic imperative is to break the doom cycle by striking grand deals with Trump to assure voters that the Labour government has an economic vision.

One deal will bring massive US money into the UK tech sector to power artificial intelligence services. OpenAI, the company that runs ChatGPT, is joining Trump on the visit and is tipped to support a big investment in data centres that will create jobs in areas where industrial work has declined. Nvidia, which makes the chips that run so many AI services, is also joining this push.

A second deal will offer US investment for nuclear energy to power these data centres and other parts of the electricity grid. One US company, X-Energy, will build up to a dozen small modular reactors for Centrica, which owns British Gas, under this plan. Starmer is calling it a “golden age of nuclear” to power the grid without carbon emissions. Rolls-Royce, which also makes small modular reactors, will gain easier access to the US market.

A third deal might resonate even more with voters. There is talk of an agreement to reduce US tariffs on Scotch whiskey – a personal favour from Trump, perhaps, because his mother was Scottish.

All up, the US and UK are set to announce deals worth more than $US10 billion ($15 billion) this week, US officials told Reuters.

There is a broader objective for Starmer, and it is one that has full support from major European leaders who lack a close relationship with Trump; all want Trump to intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine, and Starmer can lead the argument this week.

Trump is unusually positive about Starmer when the pair are so different, but the progressive prime minister made use of the monarchy in an early move to win over the president. Starmer arrived at the White House in February with a written invitation from King Charles for the state visit.

European leaders are backing Ukraine with more finance and more weapons, but they need to avoid an American retreat from Europe. Trump is putting the onus on them to do more, by cutting oil from Russia and imposing tariffs on China, so there is a risk he will use this as a reason to do nothing.

The stakes are high for Europe, not just Starmer, when Trump arrives at Windsor Castle.

Will the royal welcome produce results? Trump does not hide his admiration for the British monarchy, and there is little doubt he would stay home if this was a mere diplomatic visit to see Starmer. One of Trump’s early memories is of watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953 with his mother, who was absorbed by the ceremony.

Nothing has the power to bind Trump to Britain quite like the majesty of the royal family.

There will be two immediate tests to gauge his response to this visit. First, his address to the state banquet at Windsor on Wednesday night, local time. Second, his remarks at a press conference with Starmer on Thursday.

History shows that the British monarchy holds a unique attraction for America long after the War of Independence or the British invasion of 1812.

When the UK government sought to tighten the bonds with America in 1939, it gained help from King George VI, who visited the US for a week in June with his wife, Queen Elizabeth.

No reigning British monarch had set foot on American soil before this moment, so crowds lined the streets of Washington DC to see the visitors – and the nation’s isolationist streak may have softened just a little.

Away from the publicity, the King spoke with US President Franklin D Roosevelt about conflict in Europe. A year later, Winston Churchill negotiated a “destroyer for bases” deal with Roosevelt to gain 50 ships for the Royal Navy.

No country can match Britain for the way its royal family combines modern celebrity, cultural sway and institutional importance.

Starmer has high hopes for Trump’s visit this week. The power of the monarchy just might help.

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