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King Charles III: ‘A Partnership Born Out of Dispute’

33 0
29.04.2026

King Charles III became the second British monarch on Tuesday to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. As London’s symbolic figurehead, Charles could have stuck with the status quo: delivering a tame, charming speech that avoided ruffling Washington’s feathers. Instead, the king issued a pointed 30-minute declaration that included several thinly veiled messages for the Trump administration.

From heralding the importance of multilateral institutions to warning against the threat of global warming, Charles repeatedly expressed views that are anathema in President Donald Trump’s White House. His fierce (and oftentimes witty) speech is likely to anger some in the Beltway—and perhaps even those in London, where several British lawmakers had hoped that Charles would use his unique position to soothe tensions between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

King Charles III became the second British monarch on Tuesday to address a joint session of the U.S. Congress. As London’s symbolic figurehead, Charles could have stuck with the status quo: delivering a tame, charming speech that avoided ruffling Washington’s feathers. Instead, the king issued a pointed 30-minute declaration that included several thinly veiled messages for the Trump administration.

From heralding the importance of multilateral institutions to warning against the threat of global warming, Charles repeatedly expressed views that are anathema in President Donald Trump’s White House. His fierce (and oftentimes witty) speech is likely to anger some in the Beltway—and perhaps even those in London, where several British lawmakers had hoped that Charles would use his unique position to soothe tensions between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Here’s the full transcript of Charles’s speech:

Vice President, Mr. Speaker, members of Congress, representatives of the American people across all states, territories, cities, and communities. I would like to take this opportunity to express my particular gratitude for the great honor of addressing this joint meeting of Congress and, on behalf of the queen and myself, to thank the American people for welcoming us to the United States to mark this semiquincentennial year of the Declaration of Independence.

And for all of that time, our destinies as nations have been interlinked. As Oscar Wilde said, “We have really everything in common with America nowadays, except, of course, language.”

So, ladies and gentlemen, we meet in times of great uncertainty, in times of conflict from Europe to the Middle East, which pose immense challenges for the international community and whose impact is felt in communities the length and breadth of our own countries. We meet too in the aftermath of the incident, not far from this great building, that sought to harm the leadership of your nation and to foment wider fear and discord. Let me say, with unshakable resolve, such acts of violence will never succeed.

Whatever our differences, whatever disagreements we may have, we stand united in our commitment to uphold democracy, to protect all our people from harm, and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the service of our countries.

Standing here today, it is hard not to feel the weight of history on my shoulder because the modern relationship between our two nations and our own peoples spans not merely 250 years but over four centuries. It is extraordinary to think that I am the 19th in our line of sovereigns to study with daily attention the affairs of America. So I come here today with the highest respect for the United States Congress, this citadel of democracy, created to represent the voice of all American people, to advance sacred rights and freedoms. Speaking in this renowned chamber of debate and deliberation, I cannot help but think of my late mother, Queen Elizabeth, who in 1991 was also afforded this signal honor and similarly spoke under the watchful eye of the Statue of Freedom above us.

Today, I am here on this great occasion in the life of our nations to express the highest regard and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States. Now, as you may know, when I address my own Parliament at Westminster, we still follow an age-old tradition and take a member of Parliament hostage, holding him or her at Buckingham Palace........

© Foreign Policy