The quiet diplomat Charles III is stepping up

King Charles III flew by helicopter on a British channel on Tuesday to the HMS Prince of Wales, where he mixed with the sailors and watched the fighters take off from the deck of the ship, a carrier for British naval aircraft. It could have been a welcome escape from his sudden, complicated social life.

Over the course of five days, Charles invited President Trump for a rare second state visit to England, and then starred two of Trump's biggest antagonists, Ukrainian President Voldimi Zelensky and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in a housing complex in his country northeast of London.

None of these gestures by Charles were overtly political. He acted at the request of the government, as customarily in the British constitutional monarchy. But they nevertheless drew the 76-year-old king into a diplomatic drama that swirled in ways almost unprecedented to British sovereigns.

Charles' invitation to Trump was delivered with many fanfares by Prime Minister Kiel Starmer in his oval office on Thursday, but has become more controversial since the president clashed with Zelensky over Ukraine's support of America the day after a more harmonious session with Starmer.

“Stop the 'bully' Trump's state visit now,” Sunday's mail, the right-wing tabloid, said on its homepage. It cited a chorus of demands by lawmakers and other critics that the government would withdraw its invitation to Trump to telegraph his dissatisfaction with the president's solidarity with Ukraine.

Symbodied, Charles may have done the next best thing. After the president attended Sunday's summit meeting dedicated to Ukraine, he hosted Zelensky in his property, Sandringham. Buckingham Palace did not reveal what they had spoken about, but Zelensky said it was “warmly received” to Charles, who served him tea in the Sandringham saloon room.

For Trump's critics, the icing on the cake came on Monday. Trudeau said the country wanted to clean up US tariffs and annex the country as Trump's 51st state, and made a pilgrimage to Sandringham to meet Charles. Of course, the king is also a ritual Canadian head of state.

In a social media post, Trudeau said he discussed “issues important to Canadians, including Canada's sovereignty and an independent future.” Charles himself remained silent, but irritated Canadian politicians and argued that Canada's sovereignty should be publicly reaffirmed. Given his non-political role, that didn't happen. But the symbolism of sovereignty was smiling when Trump welcomed the prime minister he called governor.

“It was a really interesting week for British and royal diplomacy,” said royal historian Ed Owens. “People talked about how this royal has become a secret weapon of British diplomacy. We saw Kiel wielding the king and monarchy in his interactions with Trump.”

Owens said Trump's established love for the king and royal family is an intangible factor that can cling to the depths of the US president when dealing with the UK over Ukraine. Starmer has positioned himself as a bridge between Europe and the United States on the issue. And the president was clearly pleased with the invitation from Charles.

“A beautiful man, a wonderful man,” Trump told Starmer from the same chair he sat 24 hours later, punishing Zelensky and telling the Ukrainian president: You are not in a position to direct it. ”

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the status of the invitation to Trump, noting that the government is in charge of such issues. Starmer said in an interview with the BBC calling for the cancellation of his visit on Sunday that critics were “trying to reinforce rhetoric without really evaluating the single most important thing at risk here – we're talking about peace in Europe.”

The palace-knowing couple said the chances of the invitation being revoked are very unlikely given the malicious intentions they will create at the White House.

In his letter, the king broached the idea of ​​Mr Trump, who first saw him in Scotland. There, the president had a golf club, Trump Turnberry, and Charles had Balmoral, and arranged for a later state visit. The Scotland conference would be more informal without the honor guards and gorgeous banquets at Buckingham Palace, which Trump enjoyed during his last state visit in 2019.

“The idea that it will be delayed indefinitely until a peace agreement is reached on terms acceptable to Ukraine and Europe,” Owens said, adding that the royal family “won British influence amid these negotiations that may not.”

Regarding his all his observance to the non-political role of the monarch, Charles is known to be more politically conscious and opinionated than his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II. Early in his reign he was criticized for welcoming the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to Windsor Castle.

Critics thought it was a royal innocence in government dealings. They said that Charles, where European Union support was well documented, allowed it to be used by Downing Street.

The king has been demonstrated in his support of Ukraine, making statements and regularly visits relief organizations that help refugees from the war. Early in the conflict, when he was still the Prince of Wales, he visited a group in London to talk to families who had been evacuated from Khalkiv in eastern Ukraine.

“So what do you think the Russians are aiming for?” Charles asked them. “Are you going to eliminate people?”

Given the King's strong emotions and the delicateness of the moment, the Royal Watchers said that the government should be careful not to expand too much of what had been a beneficial role it had been. They say his value as an agent of British “soft power” exists in that he lies above his politics.

Even his long-standing visits to aircraft carriers was iconic given the British pledge to deploy troops to Ukrainian peacekeeping forces. HMS Prince of Wales is conducting training exercises before deploying on an eight-month mission to Asia.

Speaking to members of the crew in uniform in his dress, Charles may have spoken to Stage, a relatively new prime minister who has struggled to calm the Tempest between Ukraine and the United States.

“Your developments next month will occur amid a new challenge in a ever-changing, more unpredictable world,” Wang said. “It definitely calls for tenacity and determination, both at sea, by those who have left them home.”