President Donald Trump on Friday indicated he would accept an offer from King Charles to join the British Commonwealth, strengthening America’s ties to the United Kingdom.
‘I Love King Charles. Sounds good to me!,’ Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
Trump was responding to an exclusive report in DailyMail.com that the King would make a ‘secret’ offer to the president for the U.S. to become the next ‘associate member’ of the Commonwealth.
The Commonwealth, whose nations have a total population of more than 2.7billion, is one of the world’s oldest political associations of states.
It is made up of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. They are connected through their use of the English language and historical-cultural ties.
Membership is voluntary and the group is mostly ceremonial.
King Charles III is the head of the commonwealth.
The move will be widely seen as a huge boost for the ‘special relationship’ between the US and UK.
It comes at a time when America’s relationship with the European Union has plummeted to an all-time low.
Trump has repeatedly lambasted the EU and threated it with massive tariffs.
Trump and the King have kept a close relationship even after Trump left the White House. The two exchanged letters often.
The Commonwealth proposal was originally floated in Trump’s first term, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, who Trump adored.
Now the British are reviving the plan to extend the invitation with the hope the King will personally make the case to Trump when the president and first lady make their state visit to the UK later this year.
‘This is being discussed at the highest levels,’ a member of the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) told DailyMail.com: ‘It would be a wonderful move that would symbolize Britain’s close relationship with the US.
‘Donald Trump loves Britain and has great respect for the Royal Family, so we believe he would see the benefits of this. Associate membership could, hopefully, be followed by full membership, making the Commonwealth even more important as a global organization.’
The source added: ‘The Commonwealth is also a great forum for resolving differences between nations, and the King has shown that he is a natural peacemaker.’
Trump is a longtime fan of the British royal family. Prime Minister Keir Starmer used that to his advantage when he visited the White House earlier this month.
Starmer personally delivered the letter from the King at a meeting with the Trump in the Oval Office.
In it, the King personally invited Trump to make a state visit to the UK later this year, a rare second invite for an American president. Trump made a state visit in his first term when Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne.
Trump waved the letter around in front of the cameras and grandly accepted the invitation.
He described the King as a ‘beautiful man.’
The invitation to join the Commonwealth could also cool the tension around Canada.
Trump has repeatedly said he wants to make Canada the 51st state. The country is part of the Commonwealth.
The talk of turning has created enormous tensions and put the King in an awkward position. Canada is one of the 15 countries of which he is head of state.
He met new Canadian prime minister Mark Carney in London this week, in what many interpreted as a show of support.
Canada is looking to the King as their head of state, and head of the Commonwealth, to speak up for them and ward off Trump.
The king also hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Sandringham after Trump and Zelensky had their falling out during a disastrous meeting in the Oval Office.
Trump was said to be annoyed at the king’s move.
The royals have courted Trump as part of their role in keeping a strong relationship between the U.S. and UK.
Prince William met with him in Paris shortly after Trump won the 2024 election when the two were in France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral.
‘I was very impressed by William. I think William is terrific,’ Trump said after their meeting.
Trump has openly admired the royal family and is known to be eager for another state visit and the full trappings it brings, including a carriage ride up the Mall and a glittering banquet at Buckingham Palace.
For the UK, the king and the royal family can use their ‘soft diplomacy’ to woo the president, who is pushing 25% steel and aluminium tariffs as part of his trade war.
