William, the Prince of Wales, is expected to travel to North America when the US hosts the football World Cup with Canada and Mexico in July
Britain’s senior royals are to be deployed as part of a charm offensive with President Donald Trump to get a coveted trade deal with the US over the line in the New Year, according to a report on Saturday.
King Charles III is expected to make a trip to Washington in the first half of next year, making it a historic visit by a reigning British monarch in almost 20 years, The Times’ referenced sources close to the talks as saying.
William, the Prince of Wales, is expected to travel to North America when the US hosts the football World Cup with Canada and Mexico in July.
Plans for both visits are still in very early stages, with formal invitations from the US yet to be received.
According to the newspaper, both tours are being timed to coincide with the 250th anniversary of American independence and as discussions continue between Britain and the United States over formalising a trade deal.
This month, the American administration paused a proposed multi-billion-pound investment in the British technology sector over regulatory hurdles regarding online safety rules, the digital services tax and food safety restrictions.
The 31-billion-pound investment was the highlight from Trump’s grand state visit in September.
Downing Street hopes to use outward royal visits as an incentive to get a full UK-US trade deal signed with Trump in 2026, according to the newspaper report.
Negotiations for such a deal are said to have become tangled over US demands for more access to British markets for American farmers, one of the most sensitive issues on the agenda.
The Prime Minister Keir Starmer led government would be keen to get a deal done early enough in the New Year before Trump’s focus shifts to campaigning for critical American mid-term elections, scheduled in November.
Trump has been very open about his love of the royal family of the UK, given his late mother’s childhood years in Scotland.
He viewed documents relating to American independence and the Civil War when he was hosted by King Charles for an unprecedented second state visit in September.
At Windsor Castle, the US President was welcomed with all the pomp and pageantry of a full ceremonial state welcome and he used his speech at the state banquet to hail the special relationship, saying that the word special does not begin to do it justice.
