The Royal Family are Keir Starmer’s secret weapon in crunch talks with Donald Trump today

When Sir Keir Starmer meets President Trump in Washington today, he has a crucial trump card in the Royal Family.

In the last month, the global world order has changed, perhaps irreversibly. The unpredictable President does, however, admire the royals.

This does add a very special cachet to a relationship with Britain which he described on his state visit as “the greatest alliance the world has ever known”, but which is currently under serious strain.

The President treasures memories of his three visits, one being for a NATO Summit in 2019, when he met the royal family and keeps photographs of them in an album on Air Force One.

In 2018 he visited Queen Elizabeth at Windsor, where he reviewed the Guard of Honour, and meandered, actually walking in front of the Queen. In 2019 he was invited for a state visit, also during Teresa May’s premiership.

It was extremely controversial and the idea of an address to both Houses of Parliament was vetoed by the Speaker of the Commons. There were large protests and the traditional welcome on Horse Guards followed by a carriage ride to Buckingham Palace were changed, though they were also altered for President Obama in 2011 who arrived in an armoured motorcade.

Trump arrived by helicopter in the Palace grounds. He was welcomed by the Prince of Wales, now King Charles, who was prominent during the visit.

Trump and the First Lady were reportedly delighted when the Prince subsequently kept in touch with them using handwritten letters, which is so delightfully quirky in this electronic age.

King Charles has famously been a campaigner on environmental matters since 1970. The president believes climate change is a hoax and his mantra is “drill, baby, drill”.

Yet Trump will be acutely aware that the King represents an institution that has lasted over 1,000 years. And he is respectful of it, especially as his mother, Mary Anne, who was born in Scotland, was an ardent monarchist.

He is one of the most unconventional world leaders ever, but on this issue he has been consistent.

This is why William was chosen to represent Britain at the reopening of Notre Dame last year. He had a 40-minute meeting with Trump who said he was doing a “fantastic job”.

They shared memories of Queen Elizabeth and discussed Anglo-American relations.

If Trump were offered a second state visit, it would be a unique honour. Only President Chirac has come twice, on a state visit and a Special Visit to celebrate the centenary of the Entente Cordiale.

Queen Elizabeth undertook four state visits to the United States. The first ever was in 1939 as war loomed, undertaken by King George V1 and Queen Elizabeth, who were hosted by the Roosevelts.

Many claim that friendliness alone would not lead the President to change his policies. Yet the pre- and post-war links established in 1939 did endure and they can be pivotal. It was the help from the United States that enabled the British forces to retake the Falklands in 1982.

Central to this was President Reagan’s desire to go riding with Queen Elizabeth in Windsor which, it has recently been revealed, did influence matters. After it was arranged, he compared it to a “fairy tale” and he subsequently hosted the Queen and Prince

Philip at his ranch in California, which was a success despite the weather.

It is very likely that Trump will invite King Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States to celebrate its Semiquincentennial in July 2026. It will be a unique opportunity for him to put on a mind-blowing spectacle and, given America’s historic ties with Britain, royal participation would be highly significant.

Hopefully, despite his current health difficulties, the King and Queen would be able to attend if invited. It is also probable that the President will aim to host the Prince and Princess of Wales. Although her health is improving, she is obviously prioritizing it and her participation would be uncertain.

Trump would attach a great deal of importance to this, especially considering a YouGov poll which showed William was America’s favourite person last year. No other royal couple have their appeal and he knows it.

There is, of course, Harry and Meghan, who live in California and there is a deep rift between them and the rest of the royal family.

Since he has admitted taking drugs, there has been a lot of speculation as to whether his visa application might be made public.

In theory, anyway, if he omitted to include on it what he has admitted elsewhere, it could lead to deportation. Trump and the Sussexes are mutually hostile and have been for years.

The President recently said he wouldn’t deport Harry, who, he said, had “enough problems with his terrible wife”. It is ironic that had the Sussexes remained as senior working royals, they would have had a significant role in these turbulent times.

Meghan is currently struggling to break through as an influencer. Yet as an American, despite her liberal outlook, she might well have been influential as the royal family are above politics.

She could have had a important role to play at this uniquely difficult time. Harry, with his creation of Invictus, based on the American Warrior Games, would undeniably have continued to be extremely popular across the pond.

Instead, they did not give their royal role three years before stepping down and brutally monetising their royal connections.

Currently, they have no influence on anything of real significance, other than the Games.

The royal family are waiting to play their part in the next stage of transatlantic relations, as they enter a new and increasingly unpredictable phase.

Richard Fitzwilliams is a royal commentator who has given numerous interviews on television and radio. He is also a film critic and public relations consultant. He was former Editor of The International Who’s Who from 1975 to 2001.