King Charles played a pivotal role in prompting Donald Trump to reverse his controversial remarks about British military personnel in Afghanistan, with the monarch's concerns communicated to the White House through diplomatic channels, but a royal commentator has warned the UK against cancelling a State Visit in April.
The behind-the-scenes intervention is believed to have been key in securing the US President's dramatic change of position regarding his assertion that UK forces had remained away from front-line combat.
Following this royal diplomatic effort, President Trump declared on Saturday that British troops who served in Afghanistan were "among the greatest of all warriors" and recognised that 457 service members from the UK lost their lives during the conflict.
The King's concerns were conveyed ahead of a scheduled April visit to the United States, timed to coincide with America's 250th anniversary of independence celebrations.
King Charles played a pivotal role in prompting Donald Trump to reverse his controversial remarks about British military personnel in Afghanistan, with the monarch's concerns communicated to the White House through diplomatic channels.
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Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams warned the cancelling any State Visit would be a dangerous move.
Mr Fitzwillams told the Mail: “The nation is totally supportive of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's attack on Trump's comments which insulted our troops.
“Many feel after his insults and recent behaviour, the State Visit should be cancelled.
“(But) it cannot be without enraging Trump and this is something we cannot afford to do.”
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During a Fox News interview on Thursday, Mr Trump had cast doubt on whether America's military allies would come to its aid, stating: "We've never needed them. We've never really asked anything of them."
The President suggested that partner nations who deployed forces to Afghanistan "stayed a little back, a little off the front line."
King Charles’s youngest son, Prince Harry, who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan, issued a pointed response to these remarks.
"I served there. I made lifelong friends there. And I lost friends there," the Duke stated. "The United Kingdom alone had 457 service personnel killed."
King Charles’s youngest son, Prince Harry, who completed two tours of duty in Afghanistan, issued a pointed response to the remarks.
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He emphasised that "thousands of lives were changed forever" and insisted that "those sacrifices deserve to be spoken about truthfully and with respect."
The Prime Minister held a telephone conversation with President Trump on Saturday afternoon, during which he raised the matter of "the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home."
Following this discussion, the President issued a public statement paying tribute to the "GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom."
Following this discussion, the President issued a public statement paying tribute to the "GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom."
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch welcomed the acknowledgement, stating: "I'm pleased President Trump has now acknowledged the role of the British armed forces and those brave men and women who gave their lives fighting alongside the US and our allies."
She added pointedly: "It should never have been questioned in the first place."
The Duke of Sussex chose not to respond to President Trump's revised statement.
However, a friend of Prince Harry noted that the President had offered no apology and failed to acknowledge the other Nato nations whose troops served on the front lines, suffering hundreds of casualties between them.
President Trump's original comments emerged against a backdrop of deteriorating relations with Nato, exacerbated by his threats to impose tariffs on European countries opposing his Greenland annexation ambitions.
The Afghanistan conflict began in October 2001 when American forces invaded to remove the Taliban regime, which had been sheltering Osama bin Laden following the September 11 attacks.
Britain sustained the second-highest death toll among coalition forces, with 457 personnel killed compared to 2,461 American fatalities.
In total, more than 3,500 coalition troops died before the US withdrawal in 2021.
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