Donald Trump wants his face on US passports for the 250th birthday. Buckingham Palace? Silent.
A leak from inside the Foreign Office suggests the King was briefed on the proposal last week. The verdict was quick. 'Charles said no. Not now. Not ever,' a Palace insider told me.
The idea is vintage Trump. A special commemorative passport for 2026. His face replacing the standard design. A golden eagle maybe. 'It's about celebrating America,' the former president said on Tuesday. But the subtext is obvious. It's about him. Always has been.
Westminster is watching. Labour MPs are furious. 'The man tried to overturn an election. Now he wants to be on our passports?' one frontbencher hissed. Tory backbenchers are split. Some see it as an opportunity for a special relationship photo op. Others worry about the optics. 'Trump is a liability. Why hand him a win?' a former minister said.
The Palace silence is deafening. A spokesman said 'no comment' when asked about the King's stance. That's code for 'this is a diplomatic headache.' Charles values protocol. Trump is the opposite. The two men met briefly in 2019. It did not go well. Trump was reportedly overheard calling Charles 'kind of a lightweight.' The King remembers.
Downing Street is treading carefully. Starmer needs the US for trade deals. But he also needs to distance himself from Trump's brand of politics. 'We are not commenting on hypothetical passport designs,' a Number 10 source said. Translation: We are terrified of saying the wrong thing.
The Home Office is preparing for a backlash. If the plan goes ahead, there will be protests. Human rights groups are already lawyering up. 'This is a desecration of a official document,' a lawyer for Liberty said.
But here is the rub. Trump does not need UK approval. The US passport is sovereign. If Congress votes for it, it happens. The Palace protest is symbolic. But symbols matter in politics.
What comes next? Expect a flurry of behind-the-scenes calls. Ambassador to the US Peter Mandelson will be in the thick of it. He knows Trump. He knows the Palace. Expect a compromise. Perhaps a limited edition passport. Or a special stamp.
For now, Charles holds the line. Silence from the Palace speaks volumes. Trump will not like that. He hates being ignored.
Watch this space. The game is on.
