U.S.-UK special relationship suffers ahead of royal state visit

A year ago, the U.K. was negotiating a trade deal with Washington and President Donald Trump’s fondness for the country, his mother’s birthplace, suggested a positive outlook for the two countries’ unusually close diplomatic ties.

Britain was the first country to sign a trade pact with the U.S. in May 2025, enjoying remarkably good relations with the White House and its mercurial leader, despite his political differences with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, leader of the left-wing Labour Party and a former human rights lawyer.

But a year later, things look different.

The president’s tariff policies, provocative threats against Greenland (a semi-autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark) and the war against Iran have tested old alliances.

Trump has criticized NATO allies for not supporting military operations against Iran and singled out the U.K. in particular, denigrating its military, domestic and foreign policies, and questioning its loyalty.

Even as King Charles III and Queen Camilla prepare for a state visit to the U.S. at the end of April, Trump has warned this week that the U.K.’s trade deal, which secured it a baseline 10% import tariff, could be ripped up.

“We gave them a good trade deal. Better than I had to. Which can always be changed. But we gave them a trade deal that was very good because they’re having a lot of problems,” Trump told Sky News, adding that while he likes Starmer, the U.S.-U.K. “special relationship” had “been better.”

“It’s sad,” Trump said.

The U.K. likes to describe its ties to the U.S. as a “special relationship,” a phrase coined by Winston Churchill in 1946. The relationship has seemed unusually strong at times in recent history, such as the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, who built on strong personal relationships with Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, respectively.

Trump said in a Truth Social post: “How is the relationship? It’s the relationship where: when we asked them for help, they were not there. When we needed them, they were not there. When we didn’t need them, they were not there. And they still aren’t there.”

He did, however, describe the king this week as a “wonderful person,” a “friend” whom he “greatly” respects.

Sky News noted, however, that visits by the monarch take place at the direction of the British government.