Trump Accused of Stealing King Charles’ Thunder After the Royal Made a Clear Stance Against the President
The British Royal family is always in the news. Either it’s reports about the King’s deteriorating health, his feud with Prince Harry or rumours of possible divorce for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and Prince William and Kate Middleton. But King Charles, who has been mostly in the news lately because of his cancer and possible succession plans, is now making headlines for another reason. Or, he’s making headlines for someone else’s actions.
This all goes back to U.S. President Donald Trump, with whom King Charles has always had a very good relationship. The President is having a military parade to celebrate his birthday on Saturday, June 14. It just so happens that’s the same day when King Charles and other members of the British royal family will stand on the balcony at Buckingham Palace in London for Trooping the Colour.
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For nearly 300 years, Trooping the Colour has been a celebration of the monarch’s birthday—even if King Charles‘ birthday is months away. Now, President Trump is staging his version of a royal military parade, on the same day, no less. Vanity Fair writer Erin Vanderhoof said “the purposes of the two parades couldn’t be more different,” but comparisons seem inveitable and some people even feel like Trump is trying to steal King Charles’ thunder.
Trump’s military parade is said to be more of a Soviet-style” extravaganza, with battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers. The parade is not just supposedly celebrating Trump’s birthday, but also the 250th anniversary of the Army and Flag Day. Numerous “No Kings” protests are scheduled to take place around the country during the same time as the parade.
According to Axios, President Trump got the idea for a parade after attending France’s Bastille Day parade in 2017, but had to cancel his plans in 2018 due to costs. However, Trump has always been a fan of the British Royal family and has attempted to present his family as American royalty, which might explain the insistence on the birthday military parade.
King Charles recently took a strong stance against President Donald Trump in a speech to Canada’s parliament. This came amid threats from the US President to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. “We must face reality: since the Second World War, our world has never been more dangerous and unstable. Canada is facing challenges that, in our lifetimes, are unprecedented,” Charles said in French.
Though Charles did not specifically address Trump in the speech, he did talk about the fact that “many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them” and affirmed Canada’s sovereignty, saying the “True North is indeed strong and free.” According to the Associated Press, the King does not write his speeches in Parliament, and instead, he reads what the Canadian government provides.
Recently, King Charles reportedly wrote a letter to President Trump, looking for another state dinner. “Quite apart from this presenting an opportunity to discuss a wide range of issues of mutual interest, it would also offer a valuable chance to plan a historic second state visit to the United Kingdom. As you will know, this is unprecedented by a US president. That is why I would find it helpful for us to be able to discuss, together, a range of options for location and programme content,” Trump said about the letter.
Whether the relationship between the King of England and the President of the United States will remain on such cordial terms after Trump’s birthday parade, on the same day as Trooping the Colour, and the inevitable comparisons, remains to be seen.
