The King will have tea and a private meeting with President Donald Trump during his US state visit later ‌this month, as the British government hopes his “soft power” can heal the damaging rift caused by the Iran war.

The monarch and the Queen head ‌across the Atlantic on April 27 on a four-day trip ostensibly to mark the 250th anniversary of US independence from Britain.

But its significance has grown amid the growing spat ‌between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

“The visit … recognises the challenges the United Kingdom, the United States, and our allies face across the world,” a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said on Tuesday (local time).

“This visit is a moment to reaffirm and renew our bilateral ties as we address those challenges together, in the UK’s national interest.”

Unveiling details of the trip, the spokesperson said Trump and US first lady Melania Trump would greet the King and Queen in Washington with a private tea, followed by a ceremonial welcome at the White House, a state dinner, and ‌a meeting between the monarch ‌and President.

As previously announced, the ⁠King will also address Congress, becoming just the second British monarch to do so following Queen Elizabeth ​in 1991.

The royal couple will later visit New York where they will meet families of victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The US leg of their tour ends with a visit to Virginia, before the King heads off to Bermuda, a British overseas territory where he is the head of state.

Amid the pomp of a royal state visit, the British government hopes the trip will demonstrate the value of what a foreign office spokesperson called “the closest of friendships”.

Since the US and Israel launched their attack on Iran, Trump has dismissed Starmer as “not Winston Churchill” and Britain’s aircraft carriers as “toys”, although his affection for King and other British royals has remained unwavering.

Opinion polls show Trump is deeply unpopular ​in Britain, and some ‌politicians have said the visit should be called off.

“[Trump] is a dangerous and corrupt gangster, and that is how we must treat him,” Liberal Democrat party leader Ed Davey said in parliament on Monday.

“I really fear for what Trump might say or do while our King is forced to stand by his side. We cannot put His Majesty in that position.”

One issue that neither Trump nor the King will want to overshadow the visit is discussion about Jeffrey Epstein.

Some US lawmakers have said the King should meet Epstein’s victims. A palace source said this would not be possible because ​it might impact on potential criminal action.

“We fully understand and appreciate the survivors’ position,” the source said.

“Even though the risk may be small that a meeting ​or any public comments could impact on those inquiries, ⁠or the proper course of the law, that is a risk that we simply can’t take, for the best interest ​for the survivors themselves.”

Late last year, the King stripped his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, of all of his royal titles amid questions about the former prince’s ties with the late paedophile. Mountbatten-Windsor denies all wrongdoing.

-AAP