From 23m ago 11.07 EDT Donald Trump addresses UK royal state visit Donald Trump is speaking now. “What a beautiful British day this is,” he says. A reminder that you can watch along at the top of the blog, and I’ll bring you all the key lines here. Share Updated at 11.15 EDT
6m ago 11.25 EDT Trump also paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, Charles’s mother, referring to a tree she planted at the White House in 1991: double quotation mark Queen Elizabeth II - very, very special woman who is very greatly missed on both sides of that mighty Atlantic - long ago planted a young tree, was a very young and beautiful tree, and look at it now. Like the US, the tree “was laid by British hands on American soil”, he said. In the centuries since the US achieved independence, Trump added, “Americans have had no closer friends than the British”. Share Updated at 11.25 EDT
10m ago 11.21 EDT Just to give more context to Trump’s “cute” comment, he was talking about how his mother, who was born in Scotland, had a “crush” on Charles. He said his mother “loved the royal family”, adding: double quotation mark Any time the Queen was involved in a ceremony ... my mother would be glued to the television, and she’d say, ‘look Donald, look how beautiful that is’. She really did love the family ... but I also remember her saying very clearly, Charles ... he’s so cute ... my mother had a crush on Charles. Can you believe it? View image in fullscreen Donald Trump calls King Charles ‘cute’. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP Share
13m ago 11.18 EDT Paying tribute to that shared history, Trump said: double quotation mark Before Americans had a nation or a constitution, we first had a culture, a character and a creed. Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts - moral courage - and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea. Share
15m ago 11.15 EDT Trump speaks much of the “centuries-old bond” between the US and UK and the shared history between the two nations, with references to Magna Carta and the American war of independence. He’s also complimented King Charles’s “beautiful accent” and just called the monarch “cute”. Share Updated at 11.26 EDT
23m ago 11.07 EDT Donald Trump addresses UK royal state visit Donald Trump is speaking now. “What a beautiful British day this is,” he says. A reminder that you can watch along at the top of the blog, and I’ll bring you all the key lines here. Share Updated at 11.15 EDT
24m ago 11.06 EDT Donald Trump is waiting at the podium now where he will deliver remarks shortly, while the military band continues playing. View image in fullscreen Donald Trump, King Charles III, Queen Camilla and first lady Melania Trump walk onto the stage. Photograph: Win McNamee/Getty Images View image in fullscreen The Trumps and the royal couple during the US national anthem. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images Share Updated at 11.10 EDT
30m ago 11.01 EDT And King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived at the White House for the second day of their state visit. They are greeted by Donald and Melania Trump, before shaking hands with members of Trump’s cabinet. They stood for the national anthems, before leaving the stage to walk before a military formation for a “pass in review”. They then return to the stage. View image in fullscreen Donald and Melania Trump greet Queen Camilla and King Charles outside the White House. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Donald and Melania Trump share greetings with King Charles. Photograph: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen King Charles greeting members of Trump’s cabinet. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters View image in fullscreen King Charles and Donald Trump stand for their respective countries’ national anthems. Photograph: Suzanne Plunkett/Reuters Share Updated at 11.16 EDT
43m ago 10.48 EDT Members of Trump’s cabinet have arrived, greeted guests and taken their seats, including vice-president JD Vance; secretary of state Marco Rubio; defense secretary Pete Hegseth; treasury secretary Scott Bessent; chief of staff, Susie Wiles; deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller; and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick. View image in fullscreen Vice-president JD Vance shakes hands with UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Scott Bessent and Pete Hegseth discuss something Bessent is pointing at, alongside Howard Lutnick and Susie Wiles. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP View image in fullscreen Members of Trump’s cabinet take their seats. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images Share Updated at 10.53 EDT
49m ago 10.42 EDT Many people in the crowd are waving US and British flags and finding ways to stay dry. View image in fullscreen Guests wave flags as they arrive to watch the state visit arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House. Photograph: Mark Schiefelbein/AP View image in fullscreen An attendee uses a copy of ‘The Economist’ magazine to shield from the rain. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters Share
1h ago 10.32 EDT Kicking off a drizzly day two of the royal state visit, a military marching band has been performing on the lawn in front of the White House ahead of King Charles and Queen Camilla’s arrival. There was a flurry of British and US flags paraded up the stairs, an honor guard marched out and is now standing in formation, and the hundreds-strong crowd is looking on from beneath a sea of umbrellas. There’s a feed at the top of the blog if you’d like to watch along. View image in fullscreen Members of the US Armed Forces ahead of the ceremonial welcome for King Charles and Queen Camilla on the South Lawn of the White House. Photograph: Aaron Chown/Reuters View image in fullscreen Military Honor Guard enter during the state arrival ceremony. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Chairs are covered to protect them from the rain. Photograph: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP View image in fullscreen Apple CEO Tim Cook takes cover beneath an umbrella. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters View image in fullscreen Members of the military and guests arrive before Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump greet King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP Share Updated at 10.34 EDT
1h ago 10.17 EDT JD Vance is expected to attend King Charles’s address to a bipartisan session of Congress this afternoon, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told NBC News. The vice-president will sit on the dais behind the king next to House speaker Mike Johnson — as they did for Donald Trump’s State of the Union address. Share
2h ago 09.45 EDT Trump claims Iran wants US to open strait of Hormuz as soon as possible Donald Trump has claimed in a new Truth Social post that Iran has “just informed” Washington that they are in a “state of collapse” and want the US to open the strait of Hormuz “as soon as possible”. Trump claims this comes as Iran tries to “figure out” their “leadership situation”, which he says he believes is possible. We have not been able to verify the US president’s claims, and Iran has yet to comment on them. Earlier, we reported that Trump is dissatisfied with and unlikely to accept the latest Iranian proposal to bring the war to end, after Tehran proposed a plan that would reopen the strait of Hormuz and leave discussions about its nuclear program for a later date. The war, started by the US and Israel in late February, has disrupted global energy supplies, fueled inflation and killed thousands of people, predominantly in Iran and Lebanon. My colleague Tom Ambrose is covering all the latest on the conflict here: Middle East crisis live: Trump claims Iran wants US to open strait of Hormuz as soon as possible Read more Share Updated at 10.05 EDT