LONDON−King Charles IIIisn't an elected politician. But his trip to the United States has political implications.
But the monarch's state visit to the U.S. to mark thenation's 250th birthdaycomes as extreme political movements are on the rise back home, echoing political divisions facing Americans and placing a spotlight on the U.K.'s relationship withPresident Donald Trump.
Reform UK, a far-right political party, and the Green Party, a far-left liberal party, lead ahead of May 7 elections across the United Kingdom, according torecent Ipsos UK polling asking who citizens expect to win. Meanwhile, voters expect the mainstream Labour and Conservative parties to see losses, the polling suggests. And April 2026 opinion polling by Ipsos in the U.K. shows Reform UK in the lead, with25% of voterssaying they intend to vote for the far-right party and 17% saying they will vote Green.
These fresher, more extreme parties aren't officially linked to any U.S. political movements, but there are parallels in their origin stories.
"They have similar domestic causes," Tony Travers, associate dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science, told USA TODAY, naming high living costs and concerns about immigration as key factors. "It's a turbulent time for U.K. government."
Here's the state of play in U.K. politics ahead of the king's visit and why it matters for Americans.
The state of play in UK politics
Increasingly sharp political divides backdrop the king's visit to the U.S. The liberal Labour Party currently holds power in Parliament, but is increasingly unpopular, according to David Dunn, professor of International Politics at the University of Birmingham.
Living costs havecontinued to rise, while U.K. Prime MinisterKeir Starmeris in afragileposition as he's criticized for broken campaign promises, such as reversing a pledge toabolish tuition feesfor students, Dunn explains. He's also come under fire for his pick of U.S. ambassador, who wasremoved from office and arresteddue to ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
"The anti-incumbency trend means a willingness to deviate away from the two main parties," Dunn says. "There's a fracturing in British politics."
MAGA and Reform UK are 'similar but different,' expert says
From frustration with the major parties in the U.K. has risen more hard-liner coalitions pitching themselves as change-makers.
In the same wayMake American Great Againwas born from the Republican party, Reform UK broke away from the traditional Conservative Party, Dunn says. Reform UK echoes the driving forces behind the MAGA in that it promotes an immigration crackdown and blasts the incumbent government for failing on affordability.
Reform UK, like MAGA, also has a highly charismatic leader in Nigel Farage, who, like Trump, touts a radical shift from status quo and identifies as a leader who comes from outside the political establishment, Dunn explains.
"The same way you understand where MAGA came from, you can understand where Reform came from," he says. "By promising everything opposite all at once, (Farage) can build a coalition that gets support."
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Reform UK is "similar but different," to MAGA, Travers says. Reform UK is distinctly secular whileChristian nationalist valuesunderpin MAGA, Travers says. And its causes are centered around definitively U.K. concerns, specifically the economic aftermath of the U.K.'s referendum to leave the European Union in 2016.
And Reform UK has also worked to carve its own image separate from Trump, Travers says.
"Farage has sought distance from Trump ... Trump doesn't play well in British politics," Travers says. "Even though Reform has similar concerns to those who vote MAGA."
Far-left chases Mamdani's success
While Reform and MAGA aren't exact counterparts, the Green Party, a far-left party also emerging in the U.K., is set on mimicking the successful progressive campaign of newly-inaugurated New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Travers says. He says the Greens, led by London Assembly member Zack Polanski, sees Mamdani as a "hero."
"Polanski wants to follow the Mamdani path to garner votes," Travers says. For liberals who see Labour as too soft on progressive causes, the Green Party is a popular new route thataims to deliveron unemployment for young people and increase public funding for health care.
"Polanski wants to follow the Mamdani path," Travers says.
The king is 'lower case political'
Charles' visit also comes amid declining popularity of Trump among British people, Dunn says. The president's forging of war in Iran has driven up global oil prices, while his tariff policies continue to increase costs for British people. And tensions worsen over U.S. use of British air bases for the war in the Middle East, he says.
"He's something that does not fit well with the British people," Dunn says. Some may want the king to avoid the president. Others may see the king's role as something beyond current political rife, he says.
"If they see Charles meeting with Trump, or the Chinese president, people in the U.K. know this is part of a diplomatic magic ... to smooth over diplomatic cracks," Travers says.
The king is not an elected official and does not have political power. Meeting with Trump doesn't indicate any political attitude from the king either way, Dunn says. It's part of Charles' job description as a ceremonial figure to represent his country and keep political beliefs inside −something his mother modeled with presidents across the political spectrum, Travers says.
"What's being celebrated here is the wider relationship and the bigger picture rather than the individual people," Dunn says.
But he is head of state of Canada, Australia and the U.K., which are key members of international alliances with the U.S. His mission will be to remind Trump of the symbolic value of these relationships at a time when global security hangs in the balance, according to experts.
"The stakes are so high," Travers says. "The future of NATO, peace in Europe, peace in the Middle East are all in some extent in King Charles' hands ... reinforced by the fact the U.K. government is in such a weak domestic position at the moment ... He's 'lower-case p' political."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:King Charles’ US visit comes as a MAGA-esque movement rises back home
LONDON−King Charles IIIisn't an elected politician. But his trip to the United States has political implications. But the mona...
