'United King Don' and 'PM battles to block sleaze vote'15 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleKing Charles III and Queen Camilla's state visit to the US dominates Tuesday's papers. The Times' top picture features the King and Queen greeted by US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at the White House. The paper previews the King's address to the US Congress later saying he will deliver a "message of unity" and remind Washington of the shared "democratic, legal and social" values of the two nations. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is trying to shore up support ahead of a critical Commons vote on whether there should be a parliamentary investigation over his claims about the vetting of Lord Mandelson, the Times reports."PM pleads for unity among Labour MPs", says the Guardian as it reports Sir Keir has told his party to "stick together and fight together" before what the paper says is a "critical day" for his premiership. It adds that the PM faces the "twin threats" of a standards investigation into Lord Mandelson's appointment and potentially damaging testimony from the former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney.The Daily Telegraph goes with "Starmer pleads with MPs to save him", saying the PM told Labour MP's in a meeting that the vote on Tuesday is "a pure political stunt" by the opposition who want to "bring us down". The paper also provides more details on the King's speech to US Congress, reporting that the address will call for the US and UK to "come together" and include references to Ukraine, the Middle East, and the Aukus defence pact. The Independent says the King faces a "tricky task with Trump" during his state visit with a number of contentious issues, including Iran, the Falklands and Ukraine.Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch is urging Labour MPs to "put country before party" and back the vote for a probe on Lord Mandelson's vetting, the Daily Mail reports. Writing in the paper, Badenoch tells Labour backbenchers that they are "not in the Commons simply to protect the PM from embarrassment".The Daily Express features more criticism of the PM, saying he is being accused of putting funding for benefits claimants ahead of money for defence. The paper cites figures that show it will take 13 years for the government to deliver on its promise to boost the reserve armed forces.The i Paper describes the King's address to US Congress as "a warning to America to stick with Europe". It also quotes insiders who say to expect an "extra amount of warmth" from the King, but "he won't be afraid to voice his opinions in private".The Daily Star says security is at an all-time high during the King's state visit just days after an assassination attempt on Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner."United King Don" is the Sun's headline as it also splashes its front page with the King and Queen alongside the US president and First Lady.The Daily Mirror calls the US state visit the "King's American mission", describing him as a "peace envoy".Iran's embassy in the UK has called for its citizens to become "martyrs" and "sacrifice life for homeland" amid the ongoing war with the US and Israel, the Metro reports. It says the message was posted on social media asking for expats in the UK to register their involvement. However, a spokesperson for the Iranian Embassy told Metro that the message "does not promote any form of hostility" and "any claims or assumptions to the contrary are simply unfounded".Finally, the Financial Times reports that China has blocked Meta's $2bn (£1.48bn) acquisition of AI app Manus, ordering the tech giant to unwind its bid. The paper says the move could be intended as a warning by Beijing for similar deals in future as the US and China "vie for dominance over emerging technology".
