Updated at 5:55 p.m. EST
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s highly-anticipated state visit has come to an end.
The historic visit began Monday afternoon, as the royals touched down at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, and kicked off a four-day trip, hosted by President Donald Trump. During their time in the US, the monarchs visited Washington, DC, New York and Virginia, in honor of America’s forthcoming semiquincentennial.
So, what was on the agenda? After receiving a warm welcome upon landing, Charles and Camilla headed out to a private tea with the president and First Lady Melania Trump before going to a garden party. Come Tuesday, King Charles addressed Congress, delivering a speech that one writer called “the most important moment of his reign.” It had been decades since a British monarch had done so, the last time being when Charles’s late mother, Queen Elizabeth delivered an address in May 1991, calling for a united front following the end of the Cold War.
Royal historian Ed Owens recently told Vanity Fair that the state visit will also serve as an opportunity for King Charles to showcase his role as a mediator and statesman, as the relationship between Britain and America has been tested by President Trump’s war on Iran. “[King Charles] can’t talk politics explicitly, or take sides, but he can use his role as a statesman to exercise soft power,” Owens said.
On Tuesday evening, Trump hosted a white-tie dinner in honor of the special guests. Who else was in attendance? Some of America’s most powerful people, including Jeff Bezos and David Ellison. Then, on Wednesday, King Charles and Queen Camilla departed Washington for New York City, to visit the 9/11 Memorial, where they met with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former Mayor Michael Bloomberg. And on Thursday, the last day of their trip, Charles and Camilla bid farewell to the Trumps, and traveled to Virginia, where the king visited a national park, and together, they attended an “America at 250” block party.
See all the photos of King Charles and Queen Camilla as they embarked on a four-day state visit below.
