Melania teases Royal visit with rare behind-the-scenes video at White House

By NIKKI SCHWAB, CHIEF CAMPAIGN CORRESPONDENT Published: 18:39, 3 April 2026 | Updated: 18:40, 3 April 2026 First Lady Melania Trump on Friday teased the upcoming royal visit from King Charles with a rare behind-the-scenes video of White House preparations.  King Charles and Queen Camilla are due to visit the US on April 27 through 30.  It will mark the King's first trip to America as Britain's monarch and it will be Trump's first state dinner at the White House during his second term. In a black and white video posted to her @FirstLadyOffice account, Melania is seen rifling through papers and looking at invitations, place settings and possible floral arrangements.  'Precision in every detail,' the video is labeled.  The post includes emojis for the American and British flag and the date of the state dinner - April 28.  The video hints that the state dinner will take place within the White House - likely in the East Room or the State Dining Room space. The President has used the upcoming royal visit to push for his White House ballroom project, mocking previous administrations for hosting state dinners on the South Lawn in tents.  The First Lady's office released a short teaser video on Friday that showed First Lady Melania Trump preparing for King Charles' state dinner, which will take place in late April  The video showed possible flowers for the state visit (left) and a glimpse of a place setting (right) as the Trumps entertain the British royals for a state visit from April 27 through 30 That became commonplace especially when the dinners were planned by Democratic First Ladies Michelle Obama and Jill Biden.   'Many of you have gone to the tent when we have a president of a big country or somebody being honored of great distinction,' Trump told reporters Tuesday. 'And they sit in a tent, and if it rains, you get soaked, because the grass gets wet here very fast.'  Trump then brought up Charles' visit. 'We don't want him to sit in a pool of water,' the President said.  There was some speculation that the President and First Lady would host the British royals off-campus in Washington due to the ballroom construction.  Currently, large cranes loom over the White House. Trump has told audiences at the White House that the First Lady has complained about the construction noise.  President Gerald Ford (right) toasts Queen Elizabeth (center) alongside Vice President Nelson Rockefeller (left) under a tented Rose Garden at the royal's bicentennial state visit in 1976 President Donald Trump (center right) hosted Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison (center left) for a state dinner in the Rose Garden in September 2019. He refused to use a tent  Additionally, the traditional entryway for state dinner guests, the 'booksellers' hall, was demolished along with the rest of the East Wing in October.  There's some precedent for hosting state dinners away from the White House.  First Lady Jackie Kennedy did so in July 1961 when she took over George Washington's estate, Mount Vernon, located across the Potomac in Virginia.  It marked the first time a state dinner was held outside of Washington, DC.  This dinner, however, was held under a tent.  Queen Elizabeth was previously hosted at the White House for a tented dinner.  During a July 1976 visit, her state dinner, hosted by President Gerald Ford, was held under a tent in the White House Rose Garden.  Trump used the Rose Garden for a state dinner too, when he hosted Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for a visit in September 2019.  But Trump, no fan of tents, had the early fall dinner in the open air, and lucked out with the weather.  The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.