By Michael Holden and Sam Tabahriti
LONDON, April 26 (Reuters) – King Charles’ state visit to the U.S. will go ahead as planned on Monday despite a shooting at a White House dinner attended by President Donald Trump, Buckingham Palace said after discussions with U.S. officials.
Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, are due to arrive on Monday for a four-day state visit, but questions arose after a man opened fire on security personnel near the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner on Saturday, prompting Secret Service agents to rush Trump from the venue.
“I think it’s great; he’ll be very safe,” Trump said in an interview on CBS News’ “60 Minutes.” “The White House grounds are really safe.”
Trump also said there was no indication from authorities that there were additional threats to himself or other officials.
U.S. authorities believe the shooting likely targeted the president and administration officials, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
Blanche also said he was confident Charles would be safe during this week’s visit to the U.S.
The four-day trip – which is to include a private meeting with Trump and an address to Congress marking 250 years since U.S. independence — is intended to reinforce the strained U.S.-British relationship amid differences over the Iran war.
KING AND QUEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO VISIT
“Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of government, we can confirm the state visit by their majesties will proceed as planned,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said.
“The king and queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the visit getting underway tomorrow.”
A palace source said there might be small operational changes to one or two engagements.
Earlier, the spokesperson said Charles was being kept fully informed of developments and was relieved that Trump, his wife and all guests had been unharmed.
Charles and Camilla have also privately reached out to Trump and his wife – first lady Melania Trump – to express their sympathies, a palace source said.
British senior minister Darren Jones said earlier on Sunday that the government would continue to cooperate closely with U.S. security services ahead of Charles’ visit and that extensive discussions already under way would continue in the coming days.
“In respect of His Majesty’s visit to the United States next week … our security services obviously remain in close cooperation in advance of that,” Jones told Sky News.
(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Michael Holden, Additional reporting by Michael Erman in New York; Editing by Helen Popper and Thomas Derpinghaus)
