Donald Trump set to publish a letter from King Charles without permission

It’s said that Donald Trump loves to keep physical papers, letters and receipts. That was part of the problem when Trump stole all of those classified documents when he left the White House – he might have even viewed some of those files as mementos, although I think we can also gather that he was selling classified information to the highest bidder. Trump is from a generation which believes in physical documentation and old-fashioned correspondence, as opposed to emails and texts. So, obviously, Trump has kept his own records of correspondence with various world leaders, celebrities and royals. In the the 1990s, he corresponded with then-Prince Charles, now King Charles. Long story short, Trump is publishing one of Charles’s letters without his permission.

Donald Trump is to publish a personal letter from the King without the monarch’s permission, the Telegraph understands. The letter will appear in a new book of personal correspondences with world leaders, public figures and celebrities due to be published on Tuesday.

The letter, which was written in 1995 when the King was Prince of Wales, thanks Mr Trump for offering an honorary membership to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. It wishes Mr Trump success in his new private members’ club, which the former president opened after purchasing the mansion, and expressed an interest in visiting. He also reportedly suggested Mr Trump, who was a property developer at the time, visits his Institute of Architecture in London.

In another letter sent on July 3 1997, a matter of weeks before her death, Diana, Princess of Wales, thanked “Donald” for the flowers he sent her on her birthday. “They truly are quite magnificent, and I am deeply touched that you have thought of me in this special way,” she wrote.

On July 23 2013, the former prime minister David Cameron responded to a letter from Mr Trump who had been complaining about wind turbines near his Scottish golf courses. Signing the letter, David, Mr Cameron told Mr Trump that he understood his strong views on wind power. Explaining that Britain was committed to a “balanced energy mix”, which included renewables, Mr Cameron added: “I do appreciate that wind, in particular, can be contentious for some communities. We have made it clear that the need for renewable energy does not automatically override environmental protections.”

[From The Telegraph]

Yeah – of all the things to write in a letter to Trump, this collection doesn’t seem scandalous overall. These are polite letters in response to Trump making the first move, in most cases. That still doesn’t give Trump the right to publish other people’s letters in a book, but hey, I’m sure his people will lap it up. It’s also funny that he’s doing this to Charles and David Cameron, given the Tory Party’s belief that Trump is a preferable American ally. The right-wing establishment in Britain, from Buckingham Palace to Downing Street to the national media, have all coalesced to despise President Joe Biden.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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35 Responses to “Donald Trump set to publish a letter from King Charles without permission”

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  1. Kate says:

    This book looks incredibly boring.

    It’s like a collection of “Dear Applicant, thank you for your interest” letters

    • Tacky says:

      🤣🤣🤣🤣 Nailed it.

    • Moxylady says:

      I truly thought that the pro trump movement -esp the trump for president again – group has moved on.
      Then I saw a woman buying trump 2024 socks this weekend.
      I’m sure his book will be as big of a success as his inauguration.

    • abritdebbie says:

      I quite enjoy the suggestion that Donald Trump visits the Institute of Architecture. If that is not a subtle burn on the quality and design of his buildings I don’t know what is.

  2. ThatsNotOkay says:

    I hate everything about these photos.

    And Trump is such a kiss-ass and sycophant. He thinks he has friends because people politely turn him down. Including Diana for a date. Women have to be so careful around men like him, when telling them no. Because he’ll get enraged and just “take it.”

  3. equality says:

    Sounds like a boring book. Wonder if he has the other people’s permission.

    • Jojo says:

      I agree. KC’s letter sounds almost as boring as the person writing it.

      Anyway, what is it with the Telegraph and articles about snail mail correspondence lately? Are they just hankering after simpler times when they could harass and libel an innocent woman in peace without the entire internet calling them out for it.

      The pictures of Cowmilla in white lace totally give off Miss Havisham vibes btw.

  4. OMG this is hilarious. Seems Chuckles doesn’t want to be associated with the trumpster fire he only wants to behave like him.

  5. notasugarhere says:

    We’ll see if Charles sues for this, as he sued when his letters were published without permission before.

    • harpervalleypta says:

      IANAL, but doesn’t Charles own the copyright of his letters? Wasn’t that the whole reason why Meghan won the case about the tabloids printing her letter without her permission? Because she held the copyright?

      And I’ve known some other cases where the estate of A Famous Person sued to prevent letters from being published by the recipient, but even though the letters were written *to* that person, that doesn’t give them copyright and ownership.

      • Ciotog says:

        I don’t know about UK law but in the US you can buy someone else’s actual letters but can’t quote from or publish them without the permission of the original writer. When Joyce Maynard sold her letters from JD Salinger, this was explained in most articles about it.

    • Lizzie Bathory says:

      I can’t imagine he wouldn’t sue. Regardless of how dull the contents, he can’t very well set the precedent that anyone can publish his private correspondence.

      • BeanieBean says:

        I find that interesting, because anything you receive in the US Mail is yours to keep. From time to time over the years, I’ve seen lawsuits to that respect, where people are sent things by mistake–a mistake on the part of the sender, or the mail deliverer, or whatever. If it’s sent to you, it’s yours, and no you don’t have to pay for it if you didn’t ask for it or order it. Interesting how copyright laws conflicts with that. I would take the view that, if you write a letter to me & send it through the US Mail, it’s now mine. I own it. (Obvs. law is not my area of expertise.)

      • Frippery says:

        Would Charles & Co. think it prudent to sue someone who could (I know, I know) shortly become the president of a close ally nation?

      • Lizzie Bathory says:

        The distinction is that the receiver (Trump) owns the letter itself, but not the contents. Trump can own the letter but he cannot publish its contents without violating Charles’ copyright over the words he wrote.

        ETA: I see someone else already covered this below.

  6. Dutch says:

    What a scintillating read that collection of form letters and responses written by underlings of famous people that will be 🙄

  7. Amy Bee says:

    Only the MAGA stans will lap up this book as others have said it sounds boring. The British press better keep quiet about this because they all supported the DM publishing Meghan’s letter to her father. They should have no problem with Donald Trump doing the same.

    • BeanieBean says:

      These will probably be bulk buys by PACs, meant solely to line DTs pockets, with the actual books ending up in a warehouse or recycling bin or shredder or bonfire.

  8. Allyn says:

    This is the thing that surprises me about the “Letters to Trump” book — as a legal matter, Trump owns the physical letters but the letter writers retain the copyright to the letters. Shorts extracts might be covered by Fair Use doctrine, while anyone whose letter Trump is printing in the book in full without a copyright waiver would be able to sue Trump for copyright infringement. (cf., Salinger v. Random House.)

    • BeanieBean says:

      Ah, that explains what I was trying to work through above. The recipient owns the physical thing by the writer owns the copyright. Got it.

  9. aquarius64 says:

    I wouldn’t be surprised if it comes out some papers on the BRF are taken from Mar-a-lago.

  10. Saucy&Sassy says:

    Melania looks like a bottle of mustard.

  11. Ruby says:

    WTF is that gold cape thing Melania is wearing. What a hideous creature, inside and out.

  12. Murphy says:

    Trump is taking a page out of Charles’ own book! He just gave one of Meghan’s letters to the Telegraph so he knows how it goes.

  13. equality says:

    Trump may be that dumb, but who is the publisher? Surely, any publisher would require written permission. Or is he self-publishing?

    • Amy T says:

      I’d guess self-publishing, so he gets control and all the $. Also, what publishing house would acquire this vanity project? And why?

  14. Whatnow says:

    TUCKER CARLSON IS GONE FROM FOX

    • Jaded says:

      Hallelujah!! I hope Hannity and Ingraham are the next to get the boot!

    • BeanieBean says:

      Saw that on a BBC News alert! Laughed myself silly.

      • Mabs A'Mabbin says:

        Right? Nobody was home so I was yelling at the top of my lungs, Fucker’s gone! Fucker’s gone!

    • J says:

      Ugh! This probably just means that he’ll show up on OAN now.

    • ML says:

      And Tucker is gone abruptly with a stench of scandal. Great news.

      As to DT: not caring about copyright laws and publishing letters to make himself feel wanted totally tracks. Tfg is gaining in R polls again and if he were to win again, this would be a disaster. SIGN UP TO VOTE! In somewhat of a silver lining, Trump’s demographic includes a lot of the elderly: some of my relatives are no longer among us to vote for him again, and Biden doesn’t have this problem on the D side.

  15. Jaded says:

    Sure Drumph, it’ll sell as well as your stupid NFT cards.

  16. tamra says:

    The brotherhood of baggy pants! I know that they can afford tailors, so what gives?