By the time last night’s White House state dinner rolled around, it would not surprise me at all if King Charles was flat-out exhausted. He looked very tired at the dinner too. Another reminder that he is a 77-year-old man living with cancer, being forced to interact with a 79-year-old demented fascist madman nominally in charge of the American government. This state visit is a complete sh-tshow in many ways, and most of those ways don’t involve Charles whatsoever.
Fashion notes… Melania wore a structural, strapless Dior gown for the state dinner. When the two couples first walked out, Melania looked terrified for some reason, probably involving her husband’s diaper. “Queen” Camilla wore a custom gown by her dressmaker Fiona Clare. It’s AWFUL. I know Camilla isn’t great at formalwear, but she’s had much better state-dinner looks than this!! Remember her caped, navy Dior gown at the 2023 French state dinner at Versailles? A million times better than this. Camilla also avoided wearing a tiara for some reason, even though QEII wore various tiaras for previous White House state dinners. Camilla did wear some jewels though – a diamond-and-amethyst demi-parure. Eh. There are much better Royal Collection pieces.
The staging for this state dinner was tacky as f–k as well. As the royals and the Trumps entered the room, they staggered past a large portrait of a “bloody” Donald Trump from the Butler, Pennsylvania shooting. Crass. It would be difficult to avoid seeing or mentioning the fact that Trump ripped down the White House East Wing and there’s a big, muddy hole where it used to be. Charles even mentioned it in his state-dinner speech, saying: “And it is a particular pleasure to be back in this wonderful building, the heart of your democracy. On this occasion, I cannot help noticing the ‘readjustments’ to the East Wing, Mr President, following your visit to Windsor Castle last year. I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.”
You can read about the menu for the state dinner here. Some highlights: hearts of palm salad, spring herb ravioli with ricotta and morel mushrooms, and dover sole. Dessert was chocolate with a vanilla bean custard. Surprisingly, a lot of the meal came from the White House gardens, which I’m sure Trump is desperate to pave over.
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
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- King Charles addresses the guests at the state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: King Charles III Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- King Charles toasts with President Donald Trump during the state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: Donald J Trump, King Charles III Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla before a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Melania Trump, King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla before a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Melania Trump, King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla before a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Melania Trump, King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
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- President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump pose for a photo with Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla before a state dinner at the White House on Tuesday, April 28, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress earlier in the day, and attended several events with U.S. President Donald Trump. Featuring: Donald J Trump, Melania Trump, King Charles III, Queen Camilla Where: Washington, District of Columbia, United States When: 28 Apr 2026 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
A gold plated eagle lectern? That stupid photo from the last (fake) assassination attempt? The White House has gone all in on tacky.
Also I don’t mind Camilla’s dress, at least it’s not white. But her necklace is too large and ugly.
Reagan did not have a large picture on display of his being struck by a bullet and pushed into the car by security . It’s creepy of Trump to have that picture displayed of himself
It’s up there because it’s fake. Like every single other time. It was a show and a show must be seen.
I wouldn’t be surprised if he implied to Melania there could be another incident with Charles and Camilla there.
What a weird thing to do, among so many others.
I LOVE Camilla’s necklace! That’s the kind of jewelry I like, big enough to be seen from the other side of the room.
I also enjoyed the ‘four steps down’ ‘grand’ staircase. Four steps!
A true “let them eat cake” moment. Abolish the monarchy and 25th the squatter in the White House.
It’s like Monty Python met a Tarantino movie. Like, pick a genre. That’s the problem with Trump / Charles. One cannot take himself seriously and one can only take himself seriously. And one ends up being actually funny, and one just looks like a joke.
🎯
Charles wears that sash again more of a Transylvania look.
Wow…C’s necklace and earrings look so cheap and HIDEOUS. On a positive note, the colour of the dress works for her.
Did you she go big because she couldn’t wear a a stupid tiara?? The display of tacky and often stolen jewelry is so gross to me. If the jewels mean so much to their country, put them in a museum where they belong (after returning what is not theirs). Don’t have the consort dripping in them like a little kid who gets to raid her mom’s jewelry box for dress up.
I like Melania’s dress, but I wish it was a more vibrant color. Hate the gloves. Charles’ joke about 1814 made me chuckle. I wonder if Donald fell asleep.
I really like her dress and I enjoyed the color on her. And I saw a clip that showed how uncomfortable she was next to the Don as they were about to enter, Not sure what was going on,
I hate Melania only slightly less than I hate her husband – but I adore that dress and wish I could own it. Imagine it on your favourite star on the red carpet … amazing.
I am glad that I am not the only CBer who really liked Melania’s dress. It is something I would wear myself if I had a place to wear it.
Due to the light pinkish tone of Melania’s dress, I think Camilla’s diamond-and-dark amethyst demi-parure would look great with Melania’s Dior gown.
Melania’s dress gives me a powerful aching longing for Michelle Obama, who wears purple like the color was invented for her.
I thought it was unflattering. I remember how much crap Michelle Obama got for going sleeveless, and now all of these republicants are going stapless and tacky as heck
I definitely think the dress makes M look 10 lbs heavier, but I still like it. 🤷🏾♀️
The British sense of humor is just brutal 😆
I hate Melania only slightly less than I hate her husband – but I adore that dress and wish I could own it. Imagine it on your favourite star on the red carpet … amazing.
I wish she had worn a tiara. Like a big shiny ostentatious one, just for this occasion
Wait, why didn’t she?
The Trumps don’t deserve to see a tiara
She’s smart not to bring shiny objects around a known thief. Trump would have probably stolen it – like the resolute desk. And the tiara would be on display at Mar-a-Largo.
Perhaps she finds them uncomfortable.
I guess I am alone in like Camilla’s amethyst necklace and earrings. I just don’t think this was the right gown to pair them with. A diamond necklace would have been better with a bright pink gown.
There’s a least two of us. I loved it!
I liked it too, both hers and Melania’s…I didn’t even mind the jewels. I think diamonds would have been nice too. All fine options.
I love Camilla’s jewelry – it is one of the oldest sets in Royal vault, necklace and earrings belonged to Queen Victoria’s mother, Duchess of Kent.
I like the vibrant color of Camilla’s dress. The embroidery part lost me though.
Tony Blair made the same 1814 joke when he spoke to a Joint Session of Congress during his visit years ago. I don’t believe for a second that Charles despises Trump as Tina Brown sought to project on him.
They are just alike, two small hearted men who think they must always be the biggest one in the room. But I must say I enjoyed the way Thump cut in front of Chuck and Crocmilla while they were trying to shake hands with people (Congress?) outside, lol. The Windsors both deserved to be disregarded and treated like a couple of bothersome tourists.
He cut in front of The Queen to inspect her own troops & now he’s cut in front of C&C to shake the hands of his own cabinet like he’s never met them before.
Queen Camilla looks very frumpy in that gown. Trump wants to be king so bad. That’s all I got. He’s embarrassing.
As a retired RN, all I can look at are Charles’ bright-red sausage hands that look ready to burst at the slightest touch. They look painful.
His fingers match Thumps swollen ankles, lol. They probably bonded over it.
I actually don’t hate either women’s dress. Camilla has looked better but it’s still a very typical Camilla look for these events. And I love the necklace but it doesn’t work with the address.
Trump rambled about whether William the Conqueror was a nice person.
Given Charles’s long interest in architecture, I’m sure he had many thoughts on Trump’s changes to the White House, which he first visited during the Nixon administration
The thing that fascinates me about this is the coping mechanism that the Brits so often use to such sublime effect — humour — is lost on Trump and his ilk. It reminds me of that famous quotation from Mark Twain, about laughter, and that is their secret weapon. And Trump is just immune to it. Deaf. Doltish. Utterly beyond the reach of laughter, of humour. Because he’s a sociopath. Nothing funny about that.
I hate Melania’s dress. It’s really unflattering. It looks like she, like her husband, is swaddled in cloth (in his case, diapers).
And the gloves? Melania, you’re no Jackie Kennedy. Give it up, you tacky grifter.
I think it’s a good idea to not wear a tiara these days unless they are visiting another monarchy where you can expect the host country to be in tiaras as well. It seems to me that first Ladies and female presidents of republics don’t wear tiaras as a rule. Tiaras are so much associated with princesses and debutants. If the late queen wore a tiara in the US, well, it was another era, and she was a queen regnant.
Camilla found a good bra!
I don’t really have feelings either way about the style of Camilla’s dress, but I do think the color is flattering on her. I saw video of Melania and Diaper Don coming out for the photos and she did look very terrified. I think it’s because she was told she had to hold his hand.
I think Camilla opted out of the tiara because God knows Mango would insist Melania gets to wear one too. When is the White House going to follow up on the Two Kings post with the Two Sidechicks post?
Side Piece looks like she’s dressed for an amateur art gallery fundraiser in Santa Fe. Those gems stayed in the vault for a reason. Uff.
I respect Camilla for not wearing her usual zip-front house dresses. I think these outfits (and bras) were designed to make her look nice, with details to attract the eye to her more flattering features. May not have succeeded, but at least she tried.
I am no Cammie fan but I agree she looks ok, just kind of meh. Those amethysts are fab but I don’t feel like they go with the dress. I also agree with Kaiser re Melanoma looking uncomf. Most of the photos I see of her lately she looks really stiff and frozen. I can’t figure out if it is too much botox and fillers, she afraid of getting shot, or she is pissed that she has to keep showing up for all the photo ops. Girl looks like she wants to pull a Kate and disappear for a good long while.
No tiara, no hat earlier – I’m going to assume she knows she’s never displaying these pictures so she’s not putting in an effort (or her stylist isn’t). If she can dress better (France visit) and doesn’t do similar here I’m assuming it’s on purpose.
Felon’s wife is playing dress-up. And wearing Dior for a British visit – why am I not surprised. Dior probably wants to run away from all of them at this point. And as someone said – if this is Jackie Kennedy cosplay, I hope she haunts her forever for destroying her garden and trying to copy her look. Such garbage people.
It’s such an embarrassment. Grotesque, tacky, garbage.