Has King Charles invited US to join the Commonwealth? What does Trump say?

When UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited the White House in February, he presented US President Donald Trump with a personal letter from King Charles, inviting him to Britain for an unprecedented second state visit. Receiving the invite, the US president said that the king was a “beautiful man, a wonderful man”.

And it seems that Trump was equally elated last Friday (March 21) when it was reported that King Charles III intends to extend an offer for the United States to join the Commonwealth of Nations, saying ‘I love King Charles”.

Incidentally, if the plan is to be believed, it comes at a time when Trump and the US are pursuing an ‘America First’ and isolationist policy, which has seen them considering quitting both the Nato as well as the United Nations .

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If you are confused as to what’s going on, read on to find out more.

What’s this about the US joining the Commonwealth?

Earlier, Donald Trump suggested that he would be happy for America to become an “associate member” of the Commonwealth if King Charles were to make the offer. The US president, who has been invited to visit the monarch in Scotland later this year, posted a message on his Truth Social platform, sharing a link to a news story headlined “King Charles to make ‘secret offer’ to Donald Trump during State visit”.

The story shared by Trump, which was published by The Sun, said that King Charles would extend to Trump the offer of “associate membership” in the Commonwealth as a means to reduce tensions. The report further states that the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) hopes to invite the US to become an official affiliate of the Commonwealth.

A source speaking to the Daily Mail said, “This is being discussed at the highest levels. It would be a wonderful move that would symbolise Britain’s close relationship with the US.”

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“Donald Trump loves Britain and has great respect for the Royal Family, so we believe he would see the benefits of this. Associate membership could, hopefully, be followed by the full membership, making the Commonwealth even more important as a global organisation.”

The source added: “The Commonwealth is also a great forum for resolving differences between nations, and the King has shown that he is a natural peacemaker.”

While this may seem unbelievable to many, this isn’t the first time that such an idea has been floated. The idea for the US to join the Commonwealth was first floated during Trump’s first term as president.

According to those in the know, Charles’ ‘invite’ to Trump to join the Commonwealth is an attempt to smooth over tensions between the US and Canada, with the US president repeatedly making statements on annexing the neighbouring country and making it the ‘51st state of the US ’. Incidentally, Canada has been a member of the Commonwealth since 1931.

What is the Commonwealth?

As speculation rises about Charles’ offer to the US to join the Commonwealth, it’s important to understand what is this bloc and what purpose it serves.

The British Commonwealth, established in 1926, is made up of 56 nations, including many of the United Kingdom’s former colonies. It’s important to note that some of the nations in the Commonwealth have no historic ties with the United Kingdom.

The head of this 56-nation bloc is the monarch of Britain — King Charles III. Membership in this grouping is voluntary, with those who sign up agreeing to uphold a charter, promoting democracy, human rights, freedom of expression and rule of law.

For a country that wishes to be a part of the Commonwealth, it must make an expression of interest and undertake an “informal assessment” by the Commonwealth’s Secretary-General. This will then be considered by the Heads of Government at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, which takes place every two years.

Countries can also be expelled from the Commonwealth. In 1995, Nigeria’s membership was suspended after a military coup and the hanging of celebrated write and environmentalist Ken Saro-Wiwa. However, it was restored in 1999. Pakistan’s membership has been suspended multiple times; Zimbabwe was suspended in 2002 and later withdrew.

Will the US actually join the Commonwealth?

Firstly, it’s not clear that an offer from Britain will occur. While the Daily Mail reported that plans are “allegedly in the works to make the USA the next ‘associate member’ of the Commonwealth”, the Financial Times reported that it was “a matter for the palace” and that British officials were “unaware of any such proposal”.

However, if King Charles does extend an invite, it is unlikely that the US would accept it. The US has its own history with British colonialism and it seems improbable that Washington would resort to past ways. Also, most experts doubt if Trump would like to acknowledge His Majesty King Charles III as the Head of the Commonwealth.”

And Trump’s most staunch supporters have also expressed their objections to the idea. “Mr President, with all due respect, hell no!” one wrote on social media. “If we wanted to be part of England, we would not have elected you! We escaped the tyranny of England a very long time ago, and there is nothing the so-called ‘king’ can offer which would be advantageous.”

Alex Jones , founder of the far-right conspiracy theorist website Infowars, said on X: “I’ve got a message for Donald Trump. If you really try to make America join the British Commonwealth, 1776 will commence again!”

Many experts noted that other countries, namely Canada, would also not accept US as a part of the Commonwealth. One even said that many Canadians see value in the Commonwealth precisely because the USA is not part of it.

With inputs from agencies