Maybe we were a little premature on the whole “No Kings” thing. An actual monarch showed up in the US this week, and it went great? He gave a little speech in that plummy accent of his, inspected the newly expanded White House beekeeping facilities—first I’m hearing about the White House beehives, do they get a ballroom too?—attended a fancy dinner, and, somehow, did not make a complete fool of himself. Most importantly, of course, he presented the president with a great shiny Trump-branded bell. God forbid he showed up with some duty-free Cadbury’s chocolate. While I’m not yet ready to reapply for membership to the United Kingdom, can we at least get the telephone number of whichever charm school King Charles III attended?

Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit is, on paper, designed to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence. The actual occasion, however, is a desperate attempt to shore up the long-vaunted “special relationship” between the US and the UK.

British-American relations have come under increased stress in this second Trump administration. Trump has criticized UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government on everything from tariffs to immigration to windmills. Always windmills. The most serious blow to the relationship has come following the U.K. declining to join the Iran War and Great Britain’s initial refusal to allow American military aircraft to use their base in Diego Garcia, in the Indian Ocean, for bombing runs. Trump, as you may have heard, does........

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