King Charles III, Queen Camilla state visit to proceed as planned after DC shooting
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will move forward with their first official state visit to the United States on Monday following a shooting outside the ballroom of the Washington Hilton hotel.
"Following discussions on both sides of the Atlantic through the day, and acting on advice of government, we can confirm the state visit by their majesties will proceed as planned," a spokesperson for Buckingham Palace said in a statement to ABC News on Sunday. "The King and Queen are most grateful to all those who have worked at pace to ensure this remains the case and are looking forward to the visit getting underway tomorrow."
Royal sources told ABC News there will be modest adjustments to one or two engagements, but the royals' overall schedule remains unchanged.
The incident occurred near the main magnetometer screening area at the event, according to the United States Secret Service. A suspect, identified by law enforcement sources as Cole Allen, is in custody, officials said.
A Secret Service agent wearing an armored vest was struck in the chest, President Donald Trump said at a press briefing following the incident. The agent suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia. No other injuries were reported.
Authorities have not specified a motive. But U.S. Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro told reporters Saturday night "it is clear, based upon what we know so far, that this individual was intent on doing as much harm and as much damage as he could."
The king and queen are set to arrive on Monday with stops planned in New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C.
The trip marks Charles' first visit to the United States since 2018, when he attended the state funeral of former President George H. W. Bush.
Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace shared additional details about the visit, which will include a state dinner at the White House and events marking America's 250th birthday.
"The visit will be an opportunity to recognize the shared history of our two nations; the breadth of the economic, security and cultural relationship that has developed since then; and the deep people-to-people connections which unite communities," the palace said in a statement at the time.
