Balance of Power

Charles Brings Calm Diplomacy to Trump’s Pomp

Relations between the UK and the US are at their lowest ebb in decades.

US President Donald Trump and King Charles III, in Windsor, UK, on Sept. 17.Photographer: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

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By Julian Harris

April 27, 2026 at 10:01 AM UTC

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King Charles III’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, lived to the ripe old age of 96, giving the UK public a lot of time to consider how her son would perform as monarch.