King Charles III and Queen Camilla will move forward with their planned visit to the United States on Monday, arriving in Washington, D.C., despite a weekend shooting that rattled security at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“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 spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said in a statement to ABC News Sunday. “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.”
The incident unfolded Saturday night outside the Washington Hilton hotel, where the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner was taking place. According to the U.S. Secret Service, the shooting occurred near the main magnetometer screening area.
A suspect, identified by law enforcement sources as Cole Allen, is now in custody. President Donald Trump said a Secret Service agent wearing an armored vest was struck in the chest during the incident, though the injuries were described as non-life-threatening. No other injuries were reported.
Authorities have not confirmed a motive. However, a manifesto from the shooter indicates he intended to target the high-ranking administration officials and was willing to target hotel and law enforcement officials in order to carry out his plot.
Despite the security scare, Buckingham Palace emphasized that the royal visit will proceed largely unchanged, with only minor adjustments expected.
“The visit will be an opportunity to recognize the shared history of our two nations; the breadth of the economic, security and cultural relationship that has developed since then; and the deep people-to-people connections which unite communities,” the palace said.
The king and queen are scheduled to arrive in Washington on Monday afternoon for their first U.S. visit as monarchs. Their trip coincides with events marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence and comes at a delicate moment in U.S.-U.K. relations.
While it remains unclear whether heightened security concerns will impact specific events, the overall schedule remains intact. The visit will include meetings at the White House, a formal state dinner, and an address to a joint session of Congress.
During their time in the U.S., Charles and Camilla are also expected to travel to New York to honor the victims of the September 11 attacks and make a stop in Virginia.
The visit marks King Charles’ first trip to the United States since 2018, when he attended the state funeral of former President George H.W. Bush. It also serves as a symbolic effort to reinforce the longstanding alliance between the two nations.
As one policy expert noted to CBS News, the king’s upcoming address to Congress is expected to strike a historical tone, reflecting on both the nations’ shared past and evolving partnership.
“I expect the speech to be at a rather high-level and my expectation is that it will be somewhat historical — acknowledging the United States came from a revolution against his country, but then how we’ve sort of overcome that,” said Max Bergmann of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Whether the king will touch on more sensitive themes, such as human rights and democratic values, remains to be seen.
For now, the message from both sides of the Atlantic is clear: even in the shadow of violence, the visit — and the alliance it represents — will go on.
