Even before last night’s shooting incident in Washington DC, security for the King and Queen’s state visit was going to be very tight.
Now it will be going up another level.
It sounds as though the royal visit to the US is still going ahead, but with the potential for some adaptations in the light of any security concerns.
That presumably would mean thinking about times when the visitors would be in sight of the public – and King Charles usually likes to meet the crowds. It’s often a highlight of such trips, as he’s good with people.
When President Trump visited the UK last autumn, almost all the events happened inside Windsor Castle. He was helicoptered in and out of that secure bubble and behind those walls and so was kept away from any contact with the public.
For those planning the King and Queen’s trip, which starts on Monday, it was already diplomatically complicated, and now there are last-minute decisions of another kind to consider.
