The King and Queen were welcomed by Donald and Melania Trump upon their arrival in the USA for a state visit, just days after an assassination attempt targeting the US President. Mr Trump and the First Lady escaped unharmed following gunfire at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner on Saturday evening.

Less than 48 hours later, King Charles and Queen Camilla touched down in the USA for a scheduled state visit commemorating the 250th anniversary of American independence. The visit takes place against a backdrop of strained relations between Britain and America around the Middle East conflict. And the King has received widespread acclaim for his handling of a notable moment in which President Trump appeared to deploy his trademark 'power move' handshake on the monarch.

Footage circulated on X, formerly Twitter, captures the President and First Lady receiving Charles and Camilla at the White House.

The clip shows Mr Trump extending his hand as the King emerges from the vehicle, initiating a handshake. The pair then appear to move their hands backwards and forwards, suggesting the President is employing his notorious handshake technique, in which he grips the individual's hand firmly and abruptly draws them closer, which body language specialists have described as a deliberate display of dominance.

Nevertheless, in the footage King Charles appears well-prepared, refusing to allow the President to draw him forward, instead pulling his own hand back. Social media users were impressed by the manner in which the monarch navigated the situation, reports the Mirror.

One user said: "Proud of King Charles. You can clearly see the tugging in the handshake, the King pulled back more than once as well." Another said: "The Royals have had far too much practice at hand-shaking for the Orange Lunatic to try that with them."

Someone else wrote: "He's a professional, Trump can learn from a real king!" And another said: "Can someone please teach President Trump how to shake hands."

Mr Trump also faced accusations of breaching Royal protocol by placing his hand on the King's arm as they made their way into the White House. Many believe Royal protocol dictates that nobody should initiate physical contact with the monarch. However, the Royal Family's official website clarifies that no such obligatory code of conduct exists when meeting the King.

It says: "The King and Queen meet thousands of people each year in the UK and overseas. Before meeting Their Majesties, many people ask how they should behave. The simple answer is that there are no obligatory codes of behaviour - just courtesy."

Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: "This touch on the arm as they walked in also looked like a more political gesture. It was also the first real gesture of active, 'special' friendship here from a rather more subdued Trump than the very effusive rituals we saw during their last meeting [in September 2025].

"Charles has always seemed more relaxed about that than his mother, and Trump's gesture was extremely tempered for Trump. Just a light, tentative and rather polite touch to steer Charles inside."

The King and Queen attended a garden party at the British embassy in Washington yesterday following their meeting with the President and the First Lady. Today, Tuesday, they will receive a ceremonial welcome at the White House's South Lawn, before Charles delivers a historic address to a joint meeting on Congress, where he is anticipated to urge Mr Trump to "come together" with the UK and our allies to forge a lasting peace around the world.

In his speech, which is anticipated to run for 20 minutes and has been written on the advice of the government, the King is expected to stress that, while the UK and the USA have not always seen eye to eye on matters, "time and again, our two countries have always found ways to come together". He will also state that the hearts of our two nations possess "a generosity of spirit and a duty to foster compassion, to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding and to value people of all faiths and none".

Charles will also confront the Trump administration's harsh criticism of mocking the "big, bad Royal Navy" following the US launching war in Iran, by subtly reminding his audience that "our defence, intelligence and security ties are measured not in years but in decades".