Star Metro - King Charles experiences small-town America on last day of visit

By all accounts, the four-day visit has been a success, with President Donald Trump serving as solicitous host-in-chief who kicked off the monarch's stay with a lavish white-tie banquet at the White House.

"He's a great king -- the greatest king, in my book," Trump told reporters as Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at the White House on Thursday morning for a brief farewell ceremony under bright spring sunshine.

Following handshakes and a bit of chat, Trump added as the royal couple drove off: "Great people. We need more people like that in our country."

Several hours later, Trump announced he was removing tariffs on Scottish whisky "in honor" of Charles and Camilla.

"The King and Queen got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking!" Trump said on his Truth Social network.

- All-American day -

Charles and Camilla's day started with a somber visit to Arlington National Cemetery just outside Washington, where they laid a wreath and flowers at the hilltop Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honoring America's unidentified war dead.

From there, the couple attended a "block party" in Front Royal, Virginia, marking this year's 250th anniversary since American independence from Britain.

The small town pulled out all the stops, with a cheering crowd greeting Charles and Camilla and a parade in their honor.

They keenly inspected local food offerings, met the local Little League baseball team and chatted with a farmer holding a bleating day-old lamb named Charles after the visiting king.

The royals nodded along as dancers in flouncy dresses performed clogging, an American folk dance similar to tap set to high-energy bluegrass music.

For the party's potluck table, the guests of honor contributed Coronation quiche, Victoria sponge cake and honey from the royal hives.

The day was rounded out with a visit to nearby Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, including meetings with members of the Monacan Indian Nation, whose ancestral lands covered much of the area.

- Light moments -

The centerpiece of the whirlwind trip was Charles's speech Tuesday to the US Congress, the first by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.

The address was warmly received, even as Charles ranged over subjects from climate change and the need for restraints on presidential power to the importance of NATO and defense of Ukraine -- sensitive issues for Trump's ruling Republicans.

The 77-year-old monarch skirted around tensions between Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain's refusal to join the war against Iran, insisting the partnership between the two countries was "born out of dispute, but no less strong for it."

The royals were in New York on Wednesday, where they stopped at the 9/11 memorial and met leftist Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

Charles, who is passionate about gardening and the environment, later visited an urban sustainable farming project in Harlem, while Camilla celebrated the 100th birthday of Winnie the Pooh at the New York Public Library.

Security has been tight for the royal visit, which came just days after an alleged assassination attempt against Trump at a Washington gala.

The trip has seen light moments between Charles and Trump, including the US president joking that his Scottish-born mother had a crush on the future king when he was younger.

The royals were set to depart for the British island territory of Bermuda later Thursday.

M.Johnson--SMC