King Charles’s security is being reviewed before his state visit to the US this week, Buckingham Palace has said, after a gunman attempted to storm a dinner attended by Donald Trump in Washington DC.
Guests at the White House correspondents’ dinner on Saturday night hid under tables when gunshots were heard as the Secret Service evacuated the president and other members of his administration from the scene.
Nobody was killed in the attack, although one officer wearing a bulletproof vest who was shot was taken to hospital.
The suspect, 31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, who is understood to have been staying at the hotel, was said to have been carrying a shotgun and handgun. He was arrested on suspicion of assaulting an officer with a dangerous weapon and taken into police custody.
In a statement on Sunday evening, Buckingham Palace said: “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.
“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 under way tomorrow.”
Earlier on Sunday, the palace said Charles was being “kept fully informed of developments” and was “greatly relieved to hear that the president, first lady and all guests have been unharmed”.
A spokesperson said: “As you would expect, 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.”
Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, said the US and UK were “working closely to ensure that security arrangements are put appropriately in place” for the visit.
Asked on the Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme on Sky News if there were any extra concerns for the king’s safety, Jones said: “As you would imagine, 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.”
Jones told the BBC’s Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg programme that discussions about the king’s security during his visit to the US would take place on Sunday. Asked if that meant the existing plans would be stepped up, he said: “There’ll be appropriate security in place in relation to the risk.”
The king is due to visit Virginia, New York and Washington DC during a four-day trip beginning on Monday to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence. He will meet the US president privately and will take part in a state banquet held for him and Queen Camilla.
Charles will also take part in a 9/11 wreath-laying ceremony with the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, in memory of the 67 British people killed in the 2001 attack, which took almost 3,000 lives.
UK-US relations are strained after tense conversations between Trump and Keir Starmer over the Iran war. The president appeared to mock the prime minister in the style of a skit from the British version of Saturday Night Live, which he shared on social media.
The king has been criticised for ignoring calls to meet Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, after the royal family became embroiled in the scandal when Charles’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of leaking sensitive documents to the convicted child sex offender when he worked as a trade envoy.
A government spokesperson said: “We are working closely with our US counterparts on security arrangements. Further discussions continue today following last night’s armed incident.”
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