King Charles's visit to US 'will play into Donald Trump's hands' and 'make UK look weak' warns Republic

The plans are being drawn up despite relationships between the US and the UK becoming increasingly tense following Britain's Chagos Islands agreement and Donald Trump's demands over Greenland.

The Republic campaign group have argued: "Charles visiting Trump in the US will only play into Trump's hands, and will make the UK look weak and servile."

Sources indicate that the King has contributed to strengthening the US-UK relationship and so far has been willing to do so.

Palace sources suggest there is a "poor understanding" of how state visits work, among those calling for His Majesty to refuse to go.

The monarch hosts or travels to meet other heads of state based on his Government's advice; his personal opinions are not considered relevant.

There are no plans to "deviate" from anything written in the Buckingham Palace diary unless the Government decides otherwise, a source told The Telegraph.

Should it proceed, Charles's visit will be the first by a reigning British monarch to the US since Queen Elizabeth II.

Sir Keir Starmer's spokesman, asked about it on Tuesday, said: "The UK-US relationship is built on 250 years of history and decades of unparalleled cultural links and defence and security collaboration.

"There is no relationship that has delivered more for the British people."

The comments follow Mr Trump's recent criticisms regarding the UK's Chagos Islands agreement.

The US President attacked the agreement on social media, describing Britain's decision to transfer the Chagos Islands to Mauritius as "an act of great stupidity" and "total weakness".

His remarks came months after he and senior American officials had previously given their backing to the arrangement, which was signed in May and valued at £3.4billion.

Writing on his Truth Social platform, Trump declared: "Shockingly, our 'brilliant' Nato ally, the United Kingdom, is currently planning to give away the Island of Diego Garcia, the site of a vital US Military Base, to Mauritius, and to do so for no reason whatsoever."

The President went on to suggest that both China and Russia had taken note of what he characterised as British weakness.

Mr Trump further stated: "The UK giving away extremely important land is an act of great stupidity, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired."

Under the terms of the agreement, Britain will retain control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia, the largest island in the archipelago, through a lease-back arrangement with Mauritius.

The UK Government has mounted a firm defence of the agreement, with a spokesman stating it would "never compromise on our national security".

The Prime Minister's official spokesman countered Mr Trump's criticism by pointing out that Washington continues to support the deal, adding that "the President explicitly recognised its strength last year".

Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter