President Trump has brushed aside a surprise plea from the Duke of Sussex for Washington to stand by its commitments to Ukraine, swiping at Prince Harry’s standing to speak for Britain and tossing in a barbed aside about his wife — all just days before King Charles III and Queen Camilla land in Washington for a state visit.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday, April 23, 2026, the president dismissed Harry’s impassioned address at the Kyiv Security Forum earlier that day, where the King’s younger son issued a rare intervention on global affairs and called on “American leadership” to “honour its international treaty obligations.”
“I know one thing, Prince Harry is not speaking for the UK, that’s for sure. I think I am speaking for the UK more than Prince Harry,” Trump said, before adding, almost as an afterthought, “But I appreciate his advice very much.”
Then came the line that has set tongues wagging on both sides of the Atlantic. “How’s he doing? How’s his wife?” the president quipped, pausing before telling reporters, “Please give her my regards.” It was a pointed nod to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, with whom Trump has long had a frosty public relationship.
A Surprise Visit to Kyiv
Harry’s unannounced trip to Ukraine — his third since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022 — came just days after the Duke wrapped up a four-day tour of Australia with the Duchess of Sussex. The Duke, a decorated military veteran, traveled to Kyiv by overnight train from Poland, according to multiple reports including The Independent.
Addressing delegates in Kyiv, Harry was careful to frame his remarks outside party politics, telling the audience he was “not here as a politician” but “a soldier who understands service” and “a humanitarian.” He never mentioned Trump by name, but the target of his appeal was unmistakable.
“The United States has a singular role in this story, not only because of its power, but because when Ukraine gave up nuclear weapons, America was part of the assurance that Ukraine’s sovereignty and borders would be respected,” Harry said. “This is a moment for American leadership, a moment for America to show that it can honour its international treaty obligations — not out of charity, but out of its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability.”
The Duke also urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to “choose a different course,” offering a rare public appeal directly to the Kremlin from a member of the British royal family.
Royal Visit Looms
The timing of Harry’s intervention could hardly be more delicate. King Charles and Queen Camilla are scheduled to arrive in the United States on Monday, April 27, for a four-day visit that will include stops at the White House, an address to a joint meeting of Congress and a state dinner. The King and Queen will meet Trump during the trip, and the president has expressed optimism that the visit could “absolutely” mend relations with the UK that he says have been damaged over differences on the Iran war.
Trump made the remarks as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance looked on in the Oval Office, where the president also fielded questions on Ukraine policy. The administration’s posture toward Kyiv has been a flashpoint with European allies, several of whom have publicly urged Washington to maintain the security assurances first set out in the post-Cold War era.
That backdrop made Harry’s choice of forum — and his choice of words — all the more striking. By invoking the assurances given when Ukraine surrendered its Soviet-era nuclear arsenal under the 1994 Budapest Memorandum, the Duke pointed directly at the diplomatic architecture that successive US administrations have cited as binding.
An Awkward Family Subtext
For Buckingham Palace, the optics are uncomfortable. Harry’s split from official royal duties has been well documented, and the Palace has generally taken pains to keep his public commentary at arm’s length from the work of the King and other senior royals. With Charles arriving in Washington within days, courtiers will be keen to ensure the Duke’s Kyiv message does not bleed into the state visit’s choreography.
Trump, for his part, appeared determined to draw a sharp line between Harry and the institution his father leads. By insisting he speaks for Britain “more than Prince Harry,” the president framed the Duke as a freelancer rather than a representative — a characterization echoed in coverage by CNN.
The dig at Meghan was vintage Trump: a personal aside dressed up as politeness, dropped into the middle of a foreign-policy answer. Whether it lands as a joke or as a provocation may depend on how the Sussexes respond — and on whether the question follows the King into his meetings at the White House next week.
Neither Harry nor Meghan had publicly responded to the president’s comments by Monday morning. The Duke’s office in California has typically declined to engage with Trump’s barbs, a pattern other outlets have noted in past flare-ups between the two men.
For now, the Duke is back from Kyiv, the King is en route to Washington, and the president has once again managed to put a royal feud at the center of a foreign-policy debate.