Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance hinted at the United States securing a "great" trade deal with the U.K. due to President Donald Trump's strong relationship with the Royal Family. Trump has been a longtime fan of the monarchy and has met with the late Queen, The King, Prince William and other royals on numerous occasions over the years. Melania Trump has even claimed that she exchanges letters with King Charles. But when it comes to Vance and Trump's recent remarks, a former royal butler says the palace is unlikely to "mind."
When discussing a trade deal with the U.K., Vance said (via the Guardian), "We’re certainly working very hard with Keir Starmer’s government. The president really loves the United Kingdom. He loved The Queen. He admires and loves The King. It is a very important relationship."
The vice president added that while Trump is "a businessman and has a number of important business relationships in" Britain, he also has "a real cultural affinity" for the United Kingdom. "I think there’s a good chance that, yes, we’ll come to a great agreement that’s in the best interest of both countries," Vance said.
Speaking on behalf of Spin Genie, The King's former butler Grant Harrold said that the remarks should come as a positive for Buckingham Palace.
"So Trump has often said he's got a great relationship with the Royal Family, and the royal’s PR team are not going to mind that at all," Harrold said. "They will not mind a president of the United States of America saying he's got a great relationship with the royal family, if anything it's perfect PR."
However, he added that "you would certainly never have The King turning round and saying 'oh yes me and Mr Trump are great friends.' He's just too diplomatic for that."
Instead, the monarch—who is "very careful with his words," per Harrold—would be "more likely to say, if he would say anything, something officially about the great relationship between the U.S. and the U.K."
The former butler explained that while Queen Elizabeth "had a great relationship with Ronald Reagan and the Obamas," she never spoke about it "explicitly" and let former prime minister Margaret Thatcher "talk about her great relationship with Reagan."
As for The King inviting the U.S. president to come to the U.K. for an unprecedented second state visit, Harrold said that any comments made by Trump or Vance would not "do anything" to impact the trip. The former butler added that "it would be a PR disaster" to "revoke that invitation."
