King Charles’s security is being reviewed before his state visit to the US this week after a gunman attempted to storm a dinner with Donald Trump in Washington DC, Buckingham Palace has said.
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.
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.
Buckingham Palace said on Sunday that 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”.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
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 Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips 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 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 at least 2,606 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, too, has been criticised for ignoring calls to meet with 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.
