King Charles III in Bermuda after his state visit to the United States

King Charles III makes a stopover Friday in Bermuda, a British territory in the Atlantic Ocean, after a four-day state visit to the United States having worked to strengthen ties between Washington and London tested by the war in Iran.

This stay on the archipelago which began on Thursday - without Queen Camilla who accompanied him to the United States - marks Charles' first visit to a British overseas territory as king.

"Years ago, when the Queen (Elizabeth II, editor's note) came, my parents had the chance to meet her, so I'm really delighted to be here to see the king. It's an honor that this is the first (ultramarine) territory where he travels", appreciates Judith Alexander, ex-director, to AFP from school to retirement.

In the southwest on Friday, Charles attended traditional dances. Masked dancers in colorful costumes and high feathered headdresses perpetuate folklore with African, Native American and Caribbean influences.

Painted masks come from the time of slavery, when slaves were forbidden to dance in public and thus concealed their identity. The outfits also carry bells symbolizing the chains that hindered them.

Shortly before his departure from the United States the day before, Donald Trump hailed Charles III as "a formidable king - the most formidable of kings".

- Scottish whiskey -

Later in the day, the US president announced he would remove tariffs on Scottish whiskey "in honor of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom".

“The king and queen got me to do something that no one else had managed, almost without asking!” he said on his Truth Social platform.

Fascinated by the monarchy and its splendor, Donald Trump received the British sovereign and Queen Camilla with all the honors: soldiers in full regalia, fanfare, cannon fire, flyover of the White House by fighter planes and gala dinner.

The highlight of this four-day state visit, mainly between Washington and New York, was Charles III's speech to the American Congress on Tuesday. A rare moment: he is only the second British sovereign to have spoken there after Elizabeth II, his mother, in 1991.

The king's speech was warmly received, even if he addressed sensitive subjects for Republican supporters of Donald Trump, calling for "unfailing determination" to be demonstrated for the defense of Ukraine or even mentioning the balance of power and climate change.

At a time when the relationship between London and Washington is experiencing turbulence, around the war in Iran in particular, he urged the two countries to defend their common values ​​and to resist calls to turn “always more inward”.

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