King Charles and Queen Camilla‘s US state visit has officially been confirmed to go ahead following a shooting incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday evening.
A Buckingham Palace confirmed the visit in a statement that read: “Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of Government, we can confirm the State Visit by Their Majesties will proceed as planned.
“The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the Visit getting underway tomorrow.”
Their Majesties are set to travel to the United States from 27 to 30 April 2026, and new images from the White House show Union Jack flags being erected in anticipation of their arrival.
HELLO! understands that there will be some minor adjustments to engagements after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were evacuated during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
King Charles’ message to the US President
After details of the incident emerged on Sunday, Buckingham Palace issued a statement that read: “His Majesty is being kept fully informed of developments and is greatly relieved to hear that the President, First Lady and all guests have been unharmed.
“As you would expect, a number of discussions will be taking place throughout the day to discuss with US colleagues and our respective teams to what degree the events of Saturday evening may or may not impact on the operational planning for the Visit.”
HELLO! understands that Their Majesties reached out privately to the President and First Lady to express their sympathies with all those affected on the night and their gratitude to the security services who prevented further injury.
© Getty ImagesWhat happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
It was a frightening experience for attendees at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, where President Donald Trump had been preparing to deliver a speech.
After gunshots were reportedly heard inside the Washington Hilton, the President, First Lady and Vice President JD Vance were swiftly evacuated as Secret Service agents moved into the room.
The suspected gunman who had allegedly opened fire was later identified as Cole Tomas Allen, 30, who was arrested and detained by security agents. He was taken to hospital for evaluation and is expected to be formally charged on Monday in federal court.
© Getty ImagesAn attendee who was there at the time of the event told HELLO!: “There was quite the commotion. All the people ducked in their seats and USSS members were jumping through the crowd.”
“I heard a rumbling behind me. Hard to tell what it was – could have been gunshots from way out, upstairs in the lobby. Could’ve been the resulting commotion of whatever the incident was,” they continued.
“And a floor up from a hard security checkpoint. There were soft checkpoints prior to the lobby.”
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