Everything’s coming up Keen, at least in British coverage of the Trump state visit to the UK. King Charles clearly wants credit for hosting a state visit with so few gaffes and zero international incidents. The Windsors and the government ensured that Donald Trump didn’t have to see any protestors, nor his old Jeffrey Epstein-associated friend Prince Andrew. Did Charles know that Prince William and Kate were also going to take the bulk of the credit for being keen statesmen during the visit? Probably. Maybe Charles even used Prince Harry’s visit last week to light a fire under Will and Kate’s asses and get them to agree to all of this, and in turn, Will and Kate are acting like they invented soft diplomacy. From this Daily Mail exclusive, “How Kate was glistening jewel in the crown of Palace’s Trump schmooze-fest: Princess ‘dialled charm up to 11’ to woo The Donald and an admiring Melania.”

The Princess of Wales was deployed by the King to charm Donald Trump in an act of expert soft diplomacy that also left his usually-measured wife Melania awestruck and ‘giddy’ in her presence. She is fast becoming as influential as the King and her husband after she ‘dazzled’ the President and melted his ‘icy-cool’ First Lady on their first day of their state visit to Britain.

Kate was sat to Mr Trump’s right at last night’s extraordinary Windsor Castle state banquet, clinking glasses with him and repeatedly sharing smiles with him during the meal. One expert told the Daily Mail today that her ‘soft-skill flirting’ with the leader of the free world ‘reduced the President to a man rather in awe’. Christopher Ruddy, an American guest at the banquet, admitted today that Mr Trump spent most of the night talking to Kate.

Royal sources have said it was also highly significant that the King decided that she and Prince William met his American guests after they landed at Windsor Castle. The Prince and Princess of Wales’ influence was shown again as it emerged they held an unannounced meeting with the President and First Lady after lunch.

A royal insider has said that Charles is happy to lean on his eldest son and his wife at state events where Britain and its Royal Family uses its soft power like no other nation on earth.

‘The King can see what an asset Kate is to the Royal Family and the country’, the insider told the Mail today. ‘The Trumps are both captivated by her’.

‘William is once again showing himself to be a serious statesman’, they added. Another source said: ‘I think it shows how important William and Kate are in this royal charm offensive to set up the politicians for the second day. President Trump may reveal later what they discussed but I wouldn’t be surprised if, in addition to some small talk, William used the opportunity to get across some of his and the UK’s priorities on climate change, Ukraine, and Gaza. The mood music out of Buckingham Palace is that the King is managing his cancer treatment well. The message is upbeat. But it’s been interesting that there has been some briefing in the past few months about what sort of King William will be.’

‘That could be seen as a sign that they are preparing us for a change of reign but I suspect it’s more a case that they are confident that he is here for a few years yet. Nevertheless, there is a desire to build Williams’s profile on the world stage. He and Kate appear to have passed their latest test with flying colours so far on this state visit’.

[From The Daily Mail]

“Nevertheless, there is a desire to build Williams’s profile on the world stage.” What a sad thing to say about a 43 year old man who has known since birth that he would be king one day. Instead of William doing the work himself to build his own profile, he expects everything to be handed to him. Why would he need to travel and build relationships with world leaders and attend state events consistently in adulthood when he could just hide out in his fifth forever home and bang on and on about the school run? He can pay people to call him a statesman, after all. Anyway, I will continue to point out that Charles used Kate more prominently than William, and Kate had much more to do than her husband.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.