Originally published in NOW Grenada, The Grenadian Voice and The New Today on 18. December 2025.
US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement placing travel restrictions on citizens of Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica is a significant and worrying development.
Fellow Caricom and OECS member states are now in the direct crosshairs of the US administration, and one cannot rule out that Grenada may in the future find itself facing similar or other forms of restrictions. We have, after all, already been hit with a total import ban of fish to the United States, a major economic blow.
It is imperative that the Government of Grenada do everything in its power to prevent Grenada from becoming an object of ire for the US President. In this mission, the government should not hesitate to utilise perhaps Grenada’s strongest diplomatic tool on this front: our head of state, King Charles III.
President Trump has a well-known deep-seated respect and admiration for the King and the institution of the monarchy. It would be entirely remiss of the government to let the fact that King Charles, as King of Grenada, is our head of state, go to waste. Other governments in the Commonwealth have expertly deployed the King and Royal diplomacy against Trump to great effect, and Grenada can and should do the same.
During their February meeting at the White House, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had the US President virtually spellbound and wrapped around his finger when he presented him with a signed letter from King Charles inviting him to Buckingham Palace. President Trump’s affinity and respect for the monarchy have been noted numerous times as being a major factor in Britain having been, relative to most, very successful in navigating the US President’s volatile foreign policy.
Canada has likewise used the King to great effect to set the tone of its relationship with the US. Early in his term, President Trump repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and make it the 51st state. Canada faced the imposition of devastating tariffs, and the President’s implicit and explicit threats against the country were intense.
Canada’s new government under Mark Carney responded to Trump’s threats against the country by deploying the King. King Charles, as King of Canada, was invited to open the new session of Canada’s parliament in May and read the Throne Speech, defending Canadian sovereignty. Since this, Trump’s threats to annex Canada have all but disappeared. His aggressive rhetoric has softened considerably and the economic pressure on Canada has eased.
Both Britain and Canada have used the King and Royal diplomacy to visibly and tangibly strengthen their relationship with the US and avoid the worst ire of the Trump administration. Since the King is also Grenada’s head of state, Grenada has every right and ability to do the same. The government has an incredible ace up its sleeve, and should not let it go to waste.
While we may not be able to offer Trump a grand state visit to Buckingham Palace like the British, we can use the King’s diplomacy in other ways. The government should ask the King to write diplomatic letters to Trump on Grenada’s behalf. The late Queen Elizabeth II did this on numerous occasions for various Commonwealth governments, including for St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. If Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell meets with President Trump, he should have a signed letter from the King ready to present to him.
We should also use the perfect opportunity of next year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Antigua. The King, already being in the Caribbean, should be invited to visit Grenada and perhaps deliver the Throne Speech here as well, as his mother Queen Elizabeth II did in 1985. This would not only send a strong message to the Trump administration, but it could also be a golden opportunity for Grenada to advertise itself to the world, receiving huge amounts of positive coverage in the world’s press.
Grenada, having the King as our head of state, has a truly golden opportunity that few nations in the world have when it comes to their dealings with the present US Government. Using this fact by deploying royal diplomacy, which we have already seen on multiple occasions, has had a great effect and could secure Grenada against serious repercussions and troubles in our vital relationship with the United States. For the good of our country, this is an opportunity which must not be allowed to go to waste.
Grenada Monarchist League 