The visit is the most important foreign trip of the King’s reign so far.
The King and Queen arrived in Washington DC for their much anticipated four-day state visit with the consort wearing a symbol of Anglo-American unity.
Camilla walked down the steps of the plane with a brooch pinned to her chest featuring the American stars and stripes crossed with the Union flag.
The visit is the most important foreign trip of the King’s reign so far as it comes during a pivotal moment for the UK and US, with relations between the Prime Minister and US President Donald Trump fractious.
The monarchy’s soft power diplomacy is its strongest weapon in support of the UK’s overseas interests and there will be hope in Downing Street that Charles and Camilla can help put the UK-US special relationship on a firmer footing.
The start of the historic trip – Charles’s first to America as King – has been overshadowed by the attempted assassination of the president on Saturday night at a Washington media dinner when he was surrounded by secret service and bundled from the room.
Waiting at the bottom of the steps of the plane was a line of dignitaries prominent among the was the UK’s ambassador to America Sir Christian Turner, who replaced Lord Peter Mandelson when he was sacked over new revelations about his relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sir Christian said on Sunday “all appropriate security measures” were in place for the state visit after UK and US security teams had held discussions through the night about the trip in light of the assassination attempt.
Charles and Camilla received posies from children of British military families based in the US, before being greeted by the diplomatic, federal and state representatives and walked through an honour cordon formed by US military personnel.
Camilla, dressed in a pink Dior coat dress, was wearing a brooch presented to Queen Elizabeth II during her 1957 state visit to America on behalf of New York during a civic lunch hosted by the city’s then mayor, Robert F Wagner.
The Queen has made three previous official trips to the US with her husband while Charles has visited 19 times when he was the Prince of Wales.
Before they left Joint Base Andrews, a military facility on the outskirts of Washington, a military band played the national anthems of the UK and US.
The royal couple’s motorcade sped off heading for the capital’s centre where they will later meet Mr Trump and the First Lady for tea.
