Kanishka Singh
Washington: Several Australian flags instead of British flags were mistakenly placed near the White House ahead of King Charles’ US visit, with a District of Columbia (DC) Department of Transportation official saying the error was quickly fixed.
Fifteen Australian flags were briefly included among more than 230 flags put on display to welcome the British king when he arrives in the US capital on Monday (US time). They were later replaced with the British flag, the official said.
King Charles is also the head of state for Australia, but his role is largely ceremonial. His state visit, to mark the 250th anniversary of the US Declaration of Independence from British rule, is widely seen as the most high-profile trip of his reign so far.
The visit is the King’s first as monarch to the US, with events during the trip to include an address to Congress. The monarch and his wife, Queen Camilla, will also later visit New York, where they will meet families of victims of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
The royal couple will also attend a banquet at the White House on April 28 to commemorate the founding of the United States in 1776. The couple last visited the US on an official tour in 2005 as the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.
The US leg of their tour ends with a visit to Virginia, before the king heads off to Bermuda, a British overseas territory where he is the head of state.
The trip will aim to shore up the two allies’ “special relationship”, which has sunk to its lowest point in 70 years amid strains surrounding the Iran war.
The US president has repeatedly taken aim at the British government for its purported lack of support of US war efforts against Iran.
Late last month, Trump accused UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer of being a weak leader and told Britain to “get your own oil” from the Persian Gulf. He has also previously dismissed Starmer as “not Winston Churchill” and Britain’s aircraft carriers as “toys”.
However, Trump has been unwavering in his affection for the monarch and received a warm welcome from the British royal family during his state visit to the UK last September, when he enjoyed a visit and a banquet at Windsor Castle with billionaire guests including News Corp media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
Trump, asked by the BBC whether the King’s visit could help repair the relationship, said: “Absolutely, the answer is yes.”
“I know him well, I’ve known him for years,” he told the BBC in a phone interview. “He’s a brave man, and he’s a great man.”
Nigel Sheinwald, Britain’s ambassador to Washington from 2007 to 2012, said the visit could not, and was not designed to, heal any current acrimony between governments, but it would demonstrate ties that went far deeper than any individuals.
“Pretty much more than any other visit, this is about the long term. This is about the fundamentals of the relationship between our peoples, our countries,” Sheinwald told Reuters.
“It’s not about what’s going on today.”
The royal visit to the US is not a hit with the British public, with recent polling by YouGov showing that 49 per cent of voters opposed the trip. Another 33 per cent said it should go ahead, with others unsure.
The other two main political parties in Britain – the Greens and the Liberal Democrats – have also opposed the visit. With 62 per cent of UK Labour voters also against the visit, the only party supportive of the trip is populist leader Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
Reuters, with staff reporter
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
From our partners
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
