King Charles to meet Donald Trump off camera to avoid awkwardness

King Charles will be spared the potential humiliation of being upbraided in public by Donald Trump this week after the White House agreed that any meeting between the two men should be held off camera. British officials have pushed for the Oval Office meeting between the monarch and the US president to be held off camera for fear of a repeat of the scenes when Trump berated the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in front of the world’s press. Sources involved in planning the trip say Charles will pose for the cameras at the start of his centrepiece bilateral meeting on Tuesday, but will not be filmed talking about anything substantive. Ministers have pinned great hopes on the state visit, which they are hoping will help repair the relationship between the two countries at one of its most difficult periods in decades. With Trump threatening retaliation for criticism of the Iran war by the prime minister, Keir Starmer , and the chancellor, Rachel Reeves , the government is hoping the king might be able to talk the president down from some of his more aggressive statements. The king will attend several other events with Trump, at which he will be accompanied by palace officials as well as the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, in line with usual practice for a state visit. Diplomatic sources suggested that Cooper, who has previously travelled with the monarch to the Vatican, was ready to step in to deal with any awkward moments if required. …