King's 'high stakes' visit with Trump will be toughest test yet of his reign

King's 'high stakes' visit with Trump will be toughest test yet of his reign5 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleSean CoughlanRoyal correspondent, Washington DCJordan Pettitt - WPA Pool/Getty ImagesThe US state visit takes place at a time of "very unusual" political tensions"It's high risk, high stakes and high opportunity." That's how a royal source describes next week's state visit by King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the United States.There is genuine jeopardy in this US trip. It's not just a grip-and-grin photo opportunity, with some warm words and a few celebrities hitting the embassy prosecco."The visit comes in the biggest crisis in Anglo-American relations for a century," says Andrew Lownie, author of the best-selling biography of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor."We're dealing with a very unpredictable president," says Lownie. But if anyone can influence Trump, he adds, it's King Charles.Royal historian Ed Owens says this US state visit takes place at a time of "very unusual" political tensions and will be a "huge global event", where the King will have a chance to champion the "traditional values of democracy, liberty and freedom".All the ingredients are there for the biggest diplomatic challenge of the King's reign: war, scandal and complicated personalities.It's taking place against the volatile background of an ugly conflict in Iran and the wider Middle East, with a fragile ceasefire holding for now. Thorny political relations There's the host, President Donald Trump, who recently faced criticism for appearing to depict himself in an AI image as Jesus, in a biblical-style robe with light pouring from his palms.The president said he had intended to look like a doctor, and later deleted the image. But it's a tricky look for the King, who is head of the Church of England.While the US president is a self-avowed fan...