When Donald Trump Was Set to Publish King Charles' Private Letter Without Monarch's Permission

King Charles wrote a private letter to Donald Trump in 1995 when he was still the Prince of Wales. So nearly three decades later, the ex-president agreed to publish it for a book, Letters to Trump, even when he didn't have permission from the Monarch to make the contents of the message public.

Originally published in May 2023, Letters to Trump features a private collection of correspondence during and after Trump's time in the Oval Office with world leaders and celebrities like Vladimir Putin, Princess Diana, Alec Baldwin, and Arnold Palmer, as per the New York Post. Among them is a note by King Charles to the former president of the United States. 

The book also contains letters from controversial foreign leaders like North Korea's Kim Jong Un and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Meanwhile, the 320-page hardcover volume has some more notes addressed to Trump from his predecessors- Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. 

The Daily Telegraph reported that the Charles letter contained a thank-you note from the King (then-prince) for offering him an honorary membership of his Palm Beach, Florida estate Mar-a-Lago. The royal even wrote that he was interested in visiting the resort someday. The letter was reportedly published mere weeks before Charles's coronation at Westminster Abbey. 

After the death of Charles' mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, the ex-commander-in-chief paid tribute to Her Majesty in a lengthy message, saying, "May God bless the Queen, may she reign forever in our hearts," while also heaping praises on her son Charles on his preferred platform Truth Social that he "will be a great and wonderful king." 

Trump last met with the royal family during his controversial state visit to the UK over tea in 2019. The meeting took place at Clarence House, an official royal residence and it was the first time the royal and the ex-president met since he was last elected in 2016. As per the invitation, Trump and his Slovenian wife Melania traveled to the UK from June 3 to 5 2019, as per TIME.

Although Trump and Charles share differing opinions on climate change, Charles wrote another private message of support to the Republican nominee after he survived a potential assassination attempt on July 13, 2024, confirmed by Buckingham Palace and it was delivered via the UK embassy in Washington DC, as per BBC.

Predictably, the contents of the message weren't made public, BBC learned that the sentiments were in alignment with what UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said after the unfortunate incident. The 61-year-old wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "I am appalled by the shocking scenes at President Trump's rally and we send him and his family our best wishes. Political violence in any form has no place in our societies and my thoughts are with all the victims of this attack."