By Alexander Larman

Copyright time

“Isn’t it beautiful? He’s a beautiful man, a wonderful man,” Trump told Starmer. “We look forward to being there and honouring the king.”

The plan worked, up to a point, with Britain facing a modest 10% levy. Now the king must play his part. He might, understandably, feel aggrieved that he has essentially been compelled to offer his hospitality to bolster his increasingly unpopular Labour government. But whatever his private feelings, the many decades that Charles has spent as Prince of Wales taught him that the key thing expected on such occasions is being as polite as possible, whether or not he agrees with their political and social stances.

Certainly, there is little in common between the king and the president. Charles is a committed environmentalist, a great lover of art and horticulture, and is known to deny himself lunch. Trump, on the other hand, is an avid fan of fast food and red meat and whose own aesthetic tastes tend toward the bling.