King Charles arrives in Bermuda after whirlwind U.S. visit

HAMILTON, Bermuda -- King Charles III arrived in Bermuda on Thursday after wrapping up a marathon U.S. state visit aimed at healing ties between Washington and London strained by the war in Iran.

The monarch was greeted on the airport tarmac in Hamilton, the capital of the British island territory, by Premier David Burt and other dignitaries.

The island stop -- the first visit by Charles to a British Overseas Territory as sovereign -- comes after a day packed with small-town American experiences for the king and Queen Camilla, who will not join for the Bermuda leg of the trip.

By all accounts, the four-day U.S. visit was a success, with U.S. President Donald Trump serving as solicitous host-in-chief who honoured King Charles and Queen Camilla with a lavish white-tie banquet at the White House.

“He’s a great king -- the greatest king, in my book,” Trump told reporters as the royal arrived at the White House early Thursday to say farewell.

Following handshakes and a bit of chat, Trump added as the couple drove off: “Great people. We need more people like that in our country.”

Several hours later, Trump announced he was removing tariffs on Scottish whisky “in honour” of Charles and Camilla.

“The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

All-American day

Charles and Camilla’s day started with a somber visit to Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the hilltop Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honoring America’s unidentified war dead.

From there, the couple attended a “block party” in Front Royal, Virginia, marking this year’s 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain.

The aptly named small town pulled out all the stops, with a cheering crowd greeting Charles and Camilla and a parade in their honor.

The couple keenly inspected local food offerings, met the area’s Little League baseball team and chatted with a farmer holding a bleating day-old lamb -- named Charles after the visiting king.

The royals nodded along as dancers in flouncy dresses performed clogging, an American folk dance similar to tap set to high-energy bluegrass music.

For the party’s potluck table, the guests of honor contributed Coronation quiche, Victoria sponge cake and honey from the royal hives.

While Camilla stopped in at a horse farm, Charles rounded out his day with a visit to nearby Shenandoah National Park. His stop included meetings with members of the Monacan Indian Nation, whose ancestral lands covered much of the mountainous area.

With the trip concluded, the royals issued a statement thanking Americans for “the warmth of your welcome” throughout the couple’s first U.S. trip as king and queen.

“We leave a piece of our (heart) behind and take a little of yours back home with us,” the royal family posted on X, using a red heart emoji in the message. “Until the next time... God Bless America.”

Light moments

The centrepiece of the whirlwind trip was Charles’s speech Tuesday to the U.S. Congress, the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.

The address was warmly received, even as Charles ranged over subjects from climate change and the need for restraints on presidential power to the importance of NATO and defence of Ukraine -- sensitive issues for Trump’s ruling Republicans.

The 77-year-old monarch skirted around tensions between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain’s refusal to join the war against Iran, insisting the partnership between the two countries was “born out of dispute, but no less strong for it.”

The royals were in New York on Wednesday, where they stopped at the 9-11 memorial and met leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Charles, who is passionate about gardening and the environment, also visited an urban sustainable farming project in Harlem, while Camilla celebrated the 100th birthday of Winnie the Pooh at the New York Public Library.

Security was tight for the royal visit, which came just days after an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at a Washington gala.

In Bermuda, the king is due to receive a pomp-filled ceremonial welcome on Friday followed by engagements with local conservation leaders, artists and athletes.

By Henry Nicholls, with Anne Lebreton in Front Royal, Virginia and Anita Chang Beattie in Washington, AFP