Here are some photos of King Charles on Sunday, attending church at Sandringham alongside Camilla, Princess Anne and Tim Laurence. While Charles and Anne have always been close, it definitely feels like they’ve become each other’s best friends as they’ve gotten older, right? As for Cam, I wish she would give up that ugly hat but it’s one of her favorites.
Meanwhile, Charles got some criticism late last week. Donald Trump denigrated the sacrifices of our NATO allies in the 20-year war in Afghanistan, a war in which our NATO allies provided soldiers and operational support. Trump said this about America’s NATO allies: “We’ve never needed them. We’ve never really asked anything of them. They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan… and they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the front line.” Britain lost 457 soldiers in Afghanistan. Soon after Trump’s despicable comments, Prince Harry (a veteran of two tours in Afghanistan) issued a statement. Following Harry’s comments, Keir Starmer and various other British politicians blasted Trump publicly as well. In that time, the commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces said nothing publicly. As it turns out, Charles sent a private message to Trump, which is why Trump made a spectacular volte-face.
Donald Trump backtracked on his comments on British troops in Afghanistan after the King’s concerns were relayed to the White House. His Majesty’s intervention is thought to have influenced the US president into a climbdown over his claim that British troops stayed away from the front line in Afghanistan.
In a stark retreat from his previous comments, Mr Trump said on Saturday that UK troops who fought in Afghanistan were “among the greatest of all warriors” and acknowledged that 457 British service personnel were killed in the conflict. The King is understood to have had his concerns relayed to the president through the appropriate back channels, ahead of a planned visit to the US in April to mark the country’s 250th anniversary of independence.
On Saturday afternoon, Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on the phone, raising his concerns in a discussion that touched on “the brave and heroic British and American soldiers who fought side by side in Afghanistan, many of whom never returned home”.
After the call, the president released a public statement honouring the “GREAT and very BRAVE soldiers of the United Kingdom”. He wrote: “In Afghanistan, 457 died, many were badly injured, and they were among the greatest of all warriors. It’s a bond too strong to ever be broken. The UK Military with tremendous Heart and Soul is second to none (except for the USA!). We love you all, and always will!”
The Duke of Sussex declined to comment on Mr Trump’s latest statement. However, a friend noted that the president had not apologised, nor had he mentioned any of the other Nato countries that had served on the front line, incurring between them hundreds of deaths.
While some conservative commentators criticized Prince Harry, what was remarkable was just how many British political-types had to bandwagon onto Harry’s comments. Harry absolutely turned Trump’s BS into a major international story, so much so that I’m not sure Starmer’s reaction would have been what it was. The same goes for Charles – he was being soundly mocked for not speaking up in defense of Britain’s military and veterans. It still would have been a good idea for Charles to publicly state his support for the military and veterans, but I also understand why Charles went through back channels. The weirdest part is that I guarantee that Trump only backtracked because he was worried that Charles would pull out of the state visit.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
