King Charles, Queen Camilla bid farewell to Trump, Melania as US visit ends

King Charles and Queen Camilla began wrapping up their four-day state visit to the US with a very quick ​stop by the White House to bid farewell to President Donald Trump on Thursday.

The official reason for the royal trip was to mark the 250th anniversary of the US winning its independence from British colonial rule.

But it was also designed to mend what Charles called in Tuesday's state dinner with Trump an "unbreakable bond" and "indispensable alliance" ​between the two countries.

 "When you like the ​king of a country so much, it probably helps your relationship with the prime minister," Trump said after the king's arrival.

Posing for photographs on a red carpet outside the White House's South Portico on Thursday morning, Trump, frequently denounced by political opponents as a would-be king, pointed to the monarch and said: "He's the greatest king, ​in my book."

The two men, joined by Camilla and first lady Melania Trump, went inside, came back out five ​minutes later, and the royals got in their car to tour several sites in Virginia.

"Great people," Trump ‌said toward ⁠the departing motorcade. "We need more people like that in our country."

Later in the day, the royal couple will fly to Bermuda for Charles' first visit as sovereign to the British territory that, ​unlike the U.S., has not obtained independence.