The King is expected to head to the US in April (Image: Getty)
King Charles has been urged to delay his upcoming state visit to the US by a senior Labour MP due to the ongoing war in the Middle East.
During an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dame Emily Thornberry, chair of the Foreign Affairs select committee, suggested it would be “safer to delay” the visit. The historic trip is still yet to be officially announced by Buckingham Palace, but King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to visit Washington and New York in April to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence.
Dame Emily’s comments come after US President Donald Trump branded the UK’s approach to the conflict with Iran “terrible” and repeatedly lashed out at Sir Keir Starmer.
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Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today radio programme on Tuesday, Dame Emily said: “If it was to go ahead, it would go ahead against a backdrop of a war, and that, I think, is quite difficult – and the last thing that we want to do is to have Their Majesties embarrassed.”
Asked if she was in favour of delaying the visit, she said: “I don’t know what the programme would involve, but I think it needs to be thought through very carefully as to whether or not it’s appropriate to go ahead now, or maybe have a limited programme or delay it – but we can’t just pretend that there isn’t a background of war.”
She added: “I suspect it would be safer to delay it, but I don’t know the details.”
However, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch backed the US state visit going ahead, saying the King represents “standards which both Sir Keir and Mr Trump could actually learn from”.
The King’s visit would coincide with the 250th anniversary of US independence (Image: Getty)
She said: “The relationship is between the US and the UK, not between Donald Trump and Keir Starmer.
“The King is our head of state, and actually, he’s going for a very significant anniversary, the 250th anniversary of American independence.
“So I do think that makes sense, and it also reminds people that there are some people who are above this diplomatic row.
“I think the King is a huge asset to our country. He is very much loved. He represents so much about our country – history, tradition – and I think the standards which both Keir Starmer and Donald Trump could actually learn from.”
The King’s visit would coincide with a major US anniversary. (Image: Getty)
Dame Emily’s comments come after one of the monarch’s former top aides has said. Sir Peter Westmacott, the former British ambassador to America and the King’s former deputy private secretary, said a visit to the US amid the Iran war could prove to be “problematic” as tensions continue to brew in the Middle East.
He told The Times’s The Royals podcast: “I personally think that at the moment, while this war is continuing, it is problematic. The United States Government is conducting a war, which the British government initially thought was clearly illegal.”
He added: “Both the Prime Minister and I imagine the palace will be asking themselves, ‘What does British public opinion really feel about this? How will a state visit to the United States at this time be perceived, how will it be felt?
“Is this indicative of the King…endorsing what the president of the United States is doing?’ While this goes on, that must be a matter for discussion.”
