Could King Charles persuade Trump to keep arming Ukraine?
Western officials based in Ukraine think the King might have the sway to twist Trump's arm
Once again, I need to explain my silence.
I have been overseas for a lot of this month, partly for work; partly to celebrate my anniversary with my long-suffering partner.
These trips included a fascinating visit to Ukraine, where I met a bunch of interesting people who told me lots of interesting things. I also got to hear some pretty loud noises as Patriot systems blew up Putin’s ballistic missiles – more on that here.
For all the interesting conversations I had while in Ukraine, the one that stood out most was with a senior Western security official, currently based in the country.
“Why has Keir Starmer not used the King to twist Trump’s arm,” they asked over dinner one night.
As a Brit, the answer seemed fairly obvious: we don’t use the Royals in such an overtly political way. To my dining companion, it made absolutely no sense. Trump, they said, has an almost lusting obsession with the British Royal family. He even said recently that he would be willing to join the commonwealth because he loves King Charles.
British government policy is to support Ukraine, as long as it takes. It is a bipartisan policy that is supported by the public. So why not send Charles to visit where he could encourage other world leaders to do the same?
I pointed out the security risk. My companion replied: “There is no way Putin would strike while the King of the UK was in the country, there are backchannels to avoid these things from happening.”
I responded that Putin had completely lost the plot; they said: “OK, well, why not have him go somewhere extremely safe – somewhere in the West of the country.”
For the next hour or so, we strategised what this might look like. The King travels to Lviv with Keir Starmer, where he is greeted by Zelenskyy and other European leaders. He stands shoulder to shoulder with our allies and suggests that other heads of state (these words specifically) should do the same. He could even commit to making the trip again, only this time with the Commonwealth’s newest member: the US.
It won’t happen, obviously. But it isn’t as logistically far-fetched as it sounds. And however absurd this suggestion looks on paper, Ukraine needs support now more than ever, and needs to keep Trump on side. We’ve normalised what’s happening over there, but it is not normal.
Drastic times call for drastic measures, and Ukrainians deserve for the rest of us to go the extra mile. They are the frontline in the war against that lunatic in the Kremlin.
More again soon, I hope.
Luke