Senior royals planning US visit to strengthen its ‘special relationship’ with the UK

Senior members of the British royal family are reportedly planning to visit the US in 2026. Composite / Getty Images / 123RF

Senior royals may be embarking on a royal tour to the other side of the Atlantic in the near future, according to a new media report.

Despite being in the early stages of talks, UK government officials are confident they can arrange for members of the British royal family to travel to the United States in 2026 to meet with US President Donald Trump, reported the Times.

The purpose of the trip is supposedly to help strengthen the unique relationship between the UK and US, making use of Trump’s admiration for the royals to forge closer bonds between the two countries.

“Donald Trump has a clear affinity for the royal family. He had a great relationship with the late Queen, recently met Prince William and has spoken highly of King Charles. A royal tour to the US would help reinforce the ‘special relationship’,” a senior government official told the Times.

“No offer has been formally made” yet, according to the source, but the outlet stated a royal tour would likely take place around the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2026.

“Playing up to his pro-monarchist tendencies is one of a number of important ways we can exert our soft power,” another source told the Times.

Donald Trump has a "clear affinity" for the royal family, holding in particular esteem King Charles and the late Queen Elizabeth Photo / Getty Images

“You saw that during his first administration and can expect to see it again.”

In the same report, the Times also claimed discussions are under way to potentially extend an offer for a second state visit to Trump.

If it went ahead, Trump would become the first leader to be invited for two state visits by the UK, following on from his first in 2019 when he met with the late Queen Elizabeth.

At this stage, there are no plans set in stone, and the Herald understands any official announcements relating to the matter will be made in due time.

The floated royal tour to the US has been viewed by some as a blow to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who moved to Montecito, California, in 2020 to raise their two children away from the British public eye.

The only royals to have visited the US since the Sussexes’ big move have been Prince William and Princess Kate, who attended the Earthshot Prize Awards in Boston in 2022.

Prince William and Princess Kate speaking with David Beckham backstage after the Earthshot Prize Awards in 2022. Photo / Getty Images

A potential royal tour to the US would put a spotlight on Harry and Meghan, given they reportedly have a negative relationship with Trump.

In 2020, Harry and Meghan made a plea to the American public to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” with regard to that year’s election, which they called the “most important election of our lifetime”.

However, Trump has cosied up to other members of the royal family over the years, in turn downplaying the significance of Harry and Meghan’s message to voters.

Most recently, on December 7, Trump and Prince William met at the reopening ceremony of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris.

Trump spoke to the New York Post following the occasion, providing updates on the health of Princess Kate and King Charles, who were both diagnosed with cancer last year.

“I asked him about his wife and he said she’s doing well. And I asked him about his father, and his father is fighting very hard, and he loves his father and he loves his wife, so it was sad,” Trump told the Post.

Donald Trump with Prince William on the day of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral's reopening ceremonies. Photo / Getty Images

King Charles, 76, reached out to the president to congratulate him on his second inauguration as he emphasised the “enduring special relationship between the UK and US”, Buckingham Palace confirmed.

While on the campaign trail, footage from Tucker Carlson’s Art of The Surge docuseries showed Trump flicking through images of himself pictured with the royal family.

While looking at the photos, Trump called the late Queen “fantastic” and praised King Charles for being a “really good person.”

King Charles and Melania Trump are also said to be pen pals.

In her 2024 memoir Melania, the First Lady reflected on time spent with the Queen, and she and Trump’s “friendship with the royal family”, revealing she and the King are in “ongoing correspondence” and still “exchange letters ... to this day”.