King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in US with convoy of 29 autos to White House
Donald Trump will soon meet with King Charles and Queen Camilla after the royals arrived in Washington DC as part of their US state visit with security heightened
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Washington DC for their much anticipated four-day state visit with the consort wearing a symbol of Anglo-American unity as they stood for the national anthems of both countries.
Camilla walked down the steps of the plane with a brooch pinned to her chest featuring the American stars and stripes crossed with the Union flag.
The visit is the most important foreign trip of the King’s reign so far as it comes during a pivotal moment for the UK and US, with relations between the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump fractious.
The King and Queen stood climbed into a waiting car in a convoy of 29 vehicles, which included a fire engine, ambulance and police car.
Charles and Camilla received posies from children of British military families based in the US, before being greeted by the diplomatic, federal and state representatives and walked through an honour cordon formed by US military personnel.
Camilla, dressed in a pink Dior coat dress, was wearing a brooch presented to Queen Elizabeth II during her 1957 state visit to America on behalf of New York during a civic lunch hosted by the city’s then mayor, Robert F Wagner.
The Queen has made three previous official trips to the US with her husband while Charles has visited 19 times when he was the Prince of Wales.
Before they left Joint Base Andrews, a military facility on the outskirts of Washington, a military band played the national anthems of the UK and US.
The royal couple’s motorcade sped off heading for the capital’s centre where they will later meet Trump and the First Lady for tea.
Security measures have been dramatically increased around the White House in preparation for King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit. The wall of steel has been ramped up following a suspected assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the Washington Hilton just days earlier.
A substantial steel barrier has been installed along the White House perimeter from 14th St. to Constitution Avenue, rendering numerous popular Washington, D.C. locations off-limits.
Alongside these barriers, dozens of security checkpoints have been established requiring complete identification checks and drug and bomb detection dogs, according to Mirror US reporter Jack Hobbs, who witnessed the scene firsthand.
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