Trump's embrace of King Charles comes at a fraught time for U.S.-UK relations

U.S. President Donald Trump and King Charles III arrive to look at the White House garden and bee hive on the South Lawn of the White House. Alex Brandon-Pool / Europe hide caption toggle caption Alex Brandon-Pool / Europe President Trump has clearly been looking forward to this week's state visit of King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the White House. In recent weeks, Trump has brought up the visit multiple times, referring to the king as " a great gentleman ," "tough," " a great guy ," " a nice guy ," and "a friend of mine." The four-day visit is intended to be a celebration of the 250th anniversary of the U.S.'s independence from Great Britain. A Saturday night shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner in Washington where Trump was attending sparked a last-minute security review but the trip's itinerary appears unaffected. However, political tension hangs over the proceedings as Trump has recently clashed with the UK over the Iran War. Especially given the president's fondness for the British royals, the meeting between the leaders could serve to ease the tensions between the two countries, if only temporarily. The war in Iran has been the source of much of the tensions between the two countries. On multiple occasions, Trump has criticized the UK for not joining the U.S. and Israel in their war in Iran, at various points mocking and insulting Prime Minister Keir Starmer not assisting the US militarily. "When we asked them for help, they were not there. …