It's no secret that President Donald Trump admires the British royal family. The 45th and 47th President of the United States himself has stated that he is "a big fan of King Charles," and his son Eric Trump once said his father had "so much respect" for the late Queen Elizabeth.
Trump's fascination with the royals began long before he took office. It started at home, growing up with a Scottish mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump.
"It goes right back to his really early days when his Scottish mother spent hours in front of the TV watching the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953. It's a really strong childhood memory for Trump, and he remembers it well and how absolutely fascinated and enthralled his mother was with royalty, and some of that rubbed off on him," David Charter, author of Royal Audience: 70 Years, 13 Presidents — One Queen's Special Relationship with America, tells HELLO!.
"There's no question that he absolutely delights in royal company," David adds, describing the President as "a huge royalist."
In 2022, President Trump wrote about his late mother's admiration for Queen Elizabeth. "I grew up in a household where Queen Elizabeth – her grace, her charm, her nobility – were deeply admired, especially by my mother, who came from Scotland," the president penned.
His mother Mary was born in 1912 in Tong, Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and emigrated to the United States. President Trump has also previously told podcaster Miranda Devine that his mom "was a big fan of the Queen," revealing that "anytime the Queen was on television, my mother liked watching. [She] said, 'Oh, the Queen's on.'"
© David Allen/Getty ImagesA special relationship
Trump met Queen Elizabeth for the first time in 2018 when he and First Lady Melania Trump joined the monarch for tea at Windsor Castle in July 2018. In an interview after the meeting, the President called the Queen "an incredible lady," adding, "I feel I know her so well and she certainly knows me very well right now".
President Trump and Melania reunited with the Queen the following year during their first state visit to the United Kingdom, which included tea with Charles and Camilla at Clarence House, as well as a glittering state banquet at Buckingham Palace.
"I am delighted to welcome you and Mrs Trump to Buckingham Palace this evening, just twelve months after our first meeting at Windsor," the Queen said at the 2019 state banquet. "Visits by American Presidents always remind us of the close and longstanding friendship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and I am so glad that we have another opportunity to demonstrate the immense importance that both our countries attach to our relationship."
© Dominic Lipinski / POOL / AFP via Getty ImagesTrump and Melania were "deeply saddened" by the Queen's death in 2022. After her passing, he paid tribute to the late monarch, writing: "She will always be remembered for her faithfulness to her country and her unwavering devotion to her fellow countrymen and women.
"Melania and I will always cherish our time together with the Queen, and never forget Her Majesty’s generous friendship, great wisdom, and wonderful sense of humor. What a grand and beautiful lady she was – there was nobody like her!"
When Trump made his second, historic state visit to the United Kingdom in 2025, he and the First Lady visited St. George's Chapel, where they privately laid a wreath on the tomb of the late Queen. On that trip, the Trumps were welcomed to the United Kingdom by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The President complimented Catherine, telling her: "You’re beautiful, so beautiful."
© Yui Mok - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesIn his speech at the state banquet, President Trump praised the Princess again, calling her "so radiant," while lauding Prince William as "remarkable."
He also sang the King's praises, saying: "For many decades, His Majesty the King has epitomized the fortitude, nobility and the spirit of the British monarchy and the British people. He's dedicated himself to preserving the glory and unique character of this kingdom, restoring life to the rivers and streams, supporting the works of its artists and composers, planting trees and gardens in its countryside and I just visited one of the most beautiful I've ever seen, that you just completed, and protecting the architectural integrity of cities, villages and towns. He has uplifted the poor, cared for rural farmers and tended to wounded veterans like nobody else."
© Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesPraise for the King
Trump met Charles before ever becoming president. He and Melania were pictured with him, back when he was the Prince of Wales, in New York in 2005. The First Lady wrote in her self-titled memoir that she and Charles crossed paths many years ago in New York City.
"I've known him for quite a while," the President said of the King in 2025. "He's a great guy. Great person."
The President has also referred to both Charles and Camilla as "friends of mine for a long time."
"President Trump and King Charles get along really well, and we saw that actually, in his first state visit in 2019 when the Queen was beginning to step back a bit," David tells HELLO!, adding: "They got on famously."
Less than a year after hosting the president and first lady at Windsor Castle, King Charles and Queen Camilla will be welcomed to the White House. The royals are undertaking a state visit to the United States at the invitation of President Trump in April 2026, marking the first state visit by a British monarch since 2007. The president has hailed the upcoming visit as a "momentous occasion."
"I look forward to spending time with the King, whom I greatly respect," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "It will be TERRIFIC!"
