King Charles III was “greatly relieved” US President Donald Trump, his wife Melania Trump and other guests were unharmed after a shooting at a Washington media gala, Buckingham Palace said Sunday.
LONDON: The incident late Saturday at the annual dinner of the White House Correspondents’ Association came less than 48 hours before Charles and Queen Camilla begin a four-day state visit to the United States.
The British monarch was being “kept fully informed of developments”, the palace added.
“A number of discussions will be taking place throughout the day to discuss with US colleagues and our respective teams to what degree the events of Saturday evening may or may not impact on the operational planning for the visit.”
It is understood the king and queen reached out privately to the Trumps to express their sympathies with those impacted Saturday night, and to share their gratitude to the security services who prevented further injury.
Trump has said one law enforcement officer was shot at close range but appeared to not be critically injured.
During the four-day state visit — organised to honour the historic relationship between Britain and US as America marks 250 years of independence — Charles and Camilla will visit Washington and New York.
Charles will become the first British monarch to address Congress since his mother, the late queen Elizabeth II, in 1991, while the royal couple will have tea with Trump and Melania and attend a state dinner.
It comes as transatlantic tensions over the Iran war and the Epstein scandal’s long shadow threaten to intrude on the landmark visit.
Earlier Sunday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he was “shocked” by the overnight shooting, adding it was “a huge relief” that Trump and others were unharmed.
“Any attack on democratic institutions or on the freedom of the press must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” Starmer said on X.
The UK leader sent a message Sunday to Trump “in solidarity for the events that took place”, senior minister Darren Jones told British broadcasters during a round of interviews.
Jones said security teams in Britain and the US were “working closely to ensure the security arrangements are put appropriately in place”.
He added to Sky News that “the government and the palace take the security of His Majesty very seriously, and there were already extensive discussions taking place, which will continue over the coming days”.
