The King is being “kept fully informed of developments” after the incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night.
Picture:
Getty
Buckingham Palace has released a statement ahead of the King and Queen’s state visit to the US following another assassination attempt on Donald Trump.
Security concerns over the royals’ upcoming four-day visit are high in the wake of the scenes of chaos at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday night.
In a statement released on Saturday afternoon, the Palace said a “number of discussions will be taking place” to evaluate how the events “may or may not impact on the operational planning for the Visit.”
The statement added His Majesty is “greatly relieved to hear that the US President, First Lady and all guests have been unharmed” in the shooting incident.
The Royals are meant to travel to the US on Monday – marking the first UK state visit to the US since the late Queen Elizabeth II’s in 2007.
Read more: Who was the gunman at the Trump dinner? Everything we know so far about the ‘would-be assassin
FULL STATEMENT
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “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.
“The King and Queen are understood to have 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.”
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Alamy
The upcoming transatlantic trip was already being painted as one of the most politically tense of the King’s reign, with the relationship between President Trump and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer resting on a knife edge after disputes over the US war on Iran.
Former US Secret Service agent Barry Donadio, who served on the Presidential Protective Division spoke to LBC about managing the risk.
“They’ll send an advance team from your country there, and they’ll work hand in hand and will meet all the criteria that’s necessary for the King as well. We’re accommodating him.
“There will be a US Secret Service protecting him in addition to your security forces. So this too is routine.
“They have done this so many times over the years. So they are used to this and this would be nothing new.”I wouldn’t worry about the King because what happened is the checkpoint [at the White House Correspondents’ dinner] was there for this very purpose, and it succeeded in stopping a man with a rifle.”
