The trips come amid efforts to revive a stalled trade and technology agreement following disagreements between London and the Trump administration…reports Asian Lite News
King Charles III and the Prince of Wales are expected to make separate trips to the United States next year as part of a renewed effort to strengthen UK-US relations and unlock a paused trade and technology agreement. The visits are being planned against the backdrop of negotiations with President Donald Trump, after Washington halted implementation of a multibillion-pound investment package.
Advanced talks are under way over a visit by the king, according to reports, with April being considered as a likely window for the trip. If it goes ahead, it would mark the first visit by a reigning British monarch to the United States since Queen Elizabeth II accepted an invitation from George W Bush in 2007, underlining the symbolic weight attached to the journey. The timing would place the visit at a sensitive moment in transatlantic relations, with both sides seeking to reset momentum after months of uncertainty over trade and market access.
The Prince of Wales, Prince William, is expected to travel separately to the US later in the year, coinciding with the football World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico from 11 June to 19 July. William is likely to visit in his role as president of the Football Association, with England scheduled to play its third group match on 27 June in New Jersey. Reports suggest his visit could be timed to ensure he is in the country around Independence Day on 4 July, which in 2026 will mark the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
The planned royal diplomacy comes after the United States paused its promised multibillion-pound investment into British technology projects earlier this month, citing trade disagreements. The decision affected a £31bn package that had been hailed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer as “a generational step-change in our relationship with the US” when it was announced during Trump’s state visit to Britain. Under the deal, US technology companies pledged to spend billions of pounds in the UK, including a £22bn investment from Microsoft and £5bn from Google.
Washington later put the agreement on hold, arguing that there had been insufficient progress by the UK in lowering trade barriers in other sectors. The move was seen in Westminster as a significant setback for the government, which had presented the deal as a central achievement of its intensive engagement with the Trump administration. That diplomatic effort included hosting Trump for a second state visit at Windsor Castle in September, an unprecedented honour for a sitting US president.
Downing Street said earlier in December that it remained in “active conversations” with Washington over the technology agreement, while acknowledging the complexity of the talks. The prime minister’s spokesperson said that “negotiations of this kind are never straightforward”, reflecting the sensitivity of the issues involved. Reports in the US and UK media have suggested that American negotiators have grown frustrated at what they see as slow progress on a broader trade deal announced in May 2025, when Britain avoided the 20% tariffs imposed by the US on many other countries.
Several sticking points remain unresolved. Britain’s digital services tax, which has been strongly opposed by Trump’s allies in the US technology sector, is one area of contention. Another is the politically sensitive question of granting greater access to British markets for US agricultural products, an issue that has previously triggered resistance from UK farmers and consumer groups.
The king is not expected to be accompanied by the prime minister on his visit. Instead, the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, is likely to attend in order to represent the government, according to reports. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the plans, stating that it does not comment on upcoming royal engagements.
William’s expected trip during the World Cup would echo earlier moments of royal diplomacy linked to major US anniversaries. During the bicentennial celebrations of American independence in 1976, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip undertook a six-day visit to Philadelphia, Washington DC and New York. The queen was hosted by President Gerald Ford at a White House state dinner, a gesture that underlined the depth of the modern alliance between the two countries.
In her Christmas broadcast later that year, the queen reflected on the symbolism of the visit, saying: “This year we went to America to join in their bicentennial celebrations. Who would have thought 200 years ago that a descendant of King George III could have taken part in these celebrations? Yet that same king was among the first to recognise that old scores must be settled and differences reconciled.” She added: “The United States was born in bitter conflict with Britain but we didn’t remain enemies for long.”
