President Donald Trump made a bold claim about King Charles’ stance on the war with Iran ahead of their meeting.
The American leader, 79, asserted in an interview with The Telegraph that the British monarch, 77, actually supports his military action in the Middle East—in stark contrast to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has drawn Trump’s ire for staunchly opposing the war.
“I like him. I always liked him as a prince. He’s a good man, a great representative for your country,” Trump said of Charles. “I think he would have taken a very different stand [on the war in Iran] but he doesn’t do that. I mean, he’s a great gentleman.”
Trump, a longtime royal superfan, called Charles “a friend of mine” and said the king had “nothing to do with” the tensions between the U.S. and the U.K. over the Iran war.
“I have a great relationship with King Charles, I’ve known him a long time,” Trump told The Telegraph. “He’s a wonderful and brave man, to be honest with you. He’s been through a lot, in many ways.”
A Buckingham Palace source told the Daily Beast on Wednesday that “the king is above politics.” The royal family has long been politically neutral, focusing instead on its duty to promote national unity and pride.
Charles is set to make a state visit to the U.S. at the end of the month, marking his 20th trip but his first as king. A full itinerary has not yet been released, but the visit will include a state dinner at the White House and an address to Congress.
Trump has made two state visits to the U.K. across both of his terms. The first was in 2019, when he was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth, and the second was last year, when Charles welcomed him with a royal treatment as he faced backlash from British activists over his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Unlike Charles, Starmer has fallen out of favor with Trump over his criticism of the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran, which has sent prices skyrocketing across the globe as the Strait of Hormuz remains heavily restricted.
Since Trump waged war in February, he has openly blasted Starmer on multiple occasions, saying at one point that he was “very disappointed” in his British counterpart for not letting the U.S. use U.K. airbases amid the conflict.
“The United Kingdom, our once Great Ally, maybe the Greatest of them all, is finally giving serious thought to sending two aircraft carriers to the Middle East. That’s OK, Prime Minister Starmer, we don’t need them any longer — But we will remember,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in March. “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”
But Starmer has remained defiant.
“This is not our war. We will not be drawn into the conflict. That is not in our national interest,” Starmer told reporters on Wednesday. “The most effective way we can support the cost of living in Britain is to push for de-escalation in the Middle East and a re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz which is such a vital route for energy.”
