King Charles mocks Donald Trump's White House ballroom plans

Ben McCaffrey
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 12:00:54 +0000

King Charles III mocked Donald Trump's plans to construct a ballroom in the White House during his speech at the State Dinner.

The monarch produced a rousing speech, the centrepiece of the visit, to 535 lawmakers on Tuesday - it was a resounding success.

Members of Congress rose to their feet in applause; they laughed, and they cheered as the King mixed jovial quips with serious current affairs.

While the State Visit has always been billed as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, it has also been touted as a reconciliation for the UK-US relations.

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Donald Trump's remarks ahead of the State Dinner showed the King has gone some way to doing so with his 30-minute-long speech.

"He made a great speech. I was very jealous," the US president said.

The monarch was able to receive standing ovations from both Democrats and Republicans, which, the President admitted, is "something I could never do."

At the State Dinner, King Charles continued his characteristic charming tone, which certainly captured the star-studded guest list.

The King took aim at the President's planned construction of a new White House ballroom - a joke that landed supremely well across the room.

"On this occasion, I cannot help noticing the 'readjustments' to the East Wing, Mr President, following your visit to Windsor Castle last year," the sovereign said.

"I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814."

He refers to the burning of the White House, along with the Capitol and other Washington DC landmarks, by British forces more than two centuries ago.

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The joke comes as President Trump tries to force through legislation to construct a new, state-of-the-art, £296million ballroom in the historic governmental building.

The 90,000 sq ft plans would fit up to 999 people inside and mark the most significant structural change to the White House in more than 70 years.

Prior to the King's arrival, and in the wake of the terrifying shooting scare during the White House Correspondents' Dinner, President Trump said he is "building a safe ballroom".

But the ballroom was not the only source of jest directed towards the President during King Charles's speech on Tuesday.

"You recently commented, Mr President, that if it were not for the US, European countries would be speaking German," the monarch recalled.

"Dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!"

Cue another encore of bellowing laughter across the room, including from the President, who was, sort of, the brunt of the joke.

Mr Trump has never been short of compliments and niceties for the Royal Family, and the King in particular. Tuesday proved no different.

Following a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office - of which the details of the private discussion have not been disclosed and remain private, though the President had previously vowed to discuss "everything" with the King - Mr Trump once again declared his admiration.

"It’s great to have a King in here, a man of class," he said.

"It was a really good meeting. He’s a fantastic person. They’re incredible people, and it’s a real honour."

It's fair to say that if Monday were a resounding success, Tuesday was one for the ages.