King Charles highlights “truly unique” U.K.-U.S. relationship in call for unity

After honoring the partnership after Sept. 11, Charles said “that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine” and to fight climate change. He noted all the ways the British and American forces work together. 

“We do not embark on these remarkable endeavours together out of sentiment,” Charles said. “We do so because they build greater shared resilience for the future, so making our citizens safer for generations to come.”

Charles stressed the trade relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., and said “our ties in education, research, and cultural exchange empower citizens and future leaders of both countries.”

Charles said that the first British sovereign to visit the U.S. was his grandfather, King George VI, in 1939.

“The forces of Fascism in Europe were on the march, and some time before the United States had joined us in the defense of freedom,” Charles said. “Our shared values prevailed.”

Although we are in a “new era,” he said “those values remain.” But he said this is now a “more volatile and more dangerous than the world to which my late Mother spoke, in this Chamber, in 1991.”

Charles continued to note the partnership, saying the challenges now are too great for any one nation to face alone. 

King Charles received a standing ovation from members of both parties when he said “executive power is subject to checks and balances,” although he seemingly received more resounding applause from Democrats. The king said the U.S. founders carried with them and carried forward “the great inheritance of the British enlightenment, as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English common law and Magna Carta.” 

“The U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court Cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.”

Much of the room stood for a standing ovation, and some Democrats cheered. 

Charles said this is his 20th visit to the U.S., although his first as king.

“This is a city which symbolises a period in our shared history, or what Charles Dickens might have called ‘A Tale of Two Georges’: the first President, George Washington, and my five-times Great Grandfather, King George III,” he said. “King George never set foot in America and, please rest assured, I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action!”

He noted the Founding Fathers, saying that they were “bold and imaginative rebels with a cause. 250 years ago (or, as we say in the United “by balancing contending forces and drawing strength in diversity, they united thirteen disparate colonies to forge a Nation on the revolutionary idea of ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.'” 

Charles continued to highlight the similarities between the U.S. and Britain. 

“They carried with them, and carried forward, the great inheritance of the British Enlightenment – as well as the ideals which had an even deeper history in English Common Law and Magna Carta,” he said. 

Charles said that while the American colonies broke away due to “no taxation without representation,” there is still “a shared democratic value which you inherited from us.”

Charles quoted Mr. Trump saying during a state visit last that “the bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal. It is irreplaceable and unbreakable.”

King Charles said that when he addresses Parliament, in Britain “we still follow an age-old tradition and take a member of Parliament ‘hostage’, holding him or her at Buckingham Palace until I am safely returned.” 

“These days, we look after our ‘guest’ rather well – to the point that they often do not want to leave!” Charles joked.

Congress has a similar tradition and appoints a “designated survivor” during joint sessions, such as the State of the Union. 

Charles acknowledged the recent shooting during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and the current divisions within the U.S.

“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,” Charles said.

Charles added that “such acts of violence will never succeed,” receiving applause from Congress. 

“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,” he said.” 

King Charles kicked off the speech at 3:09 p.m., thanking the American people for welcoming us to the United States to mark this semi-quincentennial year of the Declaration of Independence.” He then received a standing ovation.

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

The king and queen arrived shortly after 3 p.m., escorted by a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House and Senate. They were given a standing ovation by lawmakers and other guests in the chamber. 

Members of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet entered the House chamber and took their seats. Those attending include CIA Director John Ratciffe, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Education Secretary Linda McMahon and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson called the House to order shortly before 2:40 p.m. ahead of Vice President JD Vance’s arrival in the chamber. 

Vance entered followed by senators. 

Members of Congress have begun arriving in the House chamber for the king’s speech at 3 p.m. 

Certain seats on the Republican side of the aisle are marked “reserved” for British dignitaries and Embassy officials, who were escorted into the chamber and took their places.

The galleries above the chamber have begun to fill up with guests as well. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, greeted the king at the U.S. Capitol, and the two took part in a photo opportunity before meeting privately. 

In keeping with tradition, the king and the president and queen and first lady exchanged gifts. 

The president gave the king a custom facsimile of a letter written from John Adams to John Jay in 1785, the White House said. In the letter, Adams describes King George III receiving Adams as the first U.S. ambassador to Great Britain. Although the meeting was accompanied by pomp and circumstance, the White House noted that Adams described a strong undercurrent of emotion as the two met as statesmen, rather than as king and subject. 

The king gave the president a framed facsimile of the 1879 design plans for the Resolute Desk, the White House said. The Resolute Desk was constructed from the timber of the British exploration ship the H.M.S. Resolute. The ship was recovered and refitted by the U.S. before it was sent back to England and presented to Queen Victoria in 1856 as a goodwill gesture. 

The originals of those plans are held by the National Maritime Museum in London. 

The first lady gave the queen six Tiffany’s sterling silver teaspoons and White House honey jars, the White House said. Each teaspoon is engraved with the queen’s cypher. 

The queen gave the first lady British jewelry from jewelry designer Fiona Rae. 

King Charles and Queen Camilla are leaving the White House for the short trip to the Capitol, where the king will address lawmakers later this afternoon. They’re expected back at the White House at 7 p.m. for the state dinner.

The president spoke briefly after the royals departed.

“It was a really good meeting. He’s a fantastic person. They’re incredible people and it’s a real honor,” he said.

After a stroll down a red carpet, the king and president entered the Oval Office at 11:57 a.m. The first lady and the queen entered after them. 

The president and king are expected to have a bilateral meeting, while the queen and first lady eventually head to a different area to meet with students. 

The president said he would like to watch the king’s speech to Congress in person, but that would go against “protocol.” 

“He’s going to be addressing Congress and I’m going to be watching,” Mr. Trump said. “I was thinking of going but they said, ‘I don’t know. That might be a step too far.’ I would love to go. It’s not supposed to be protocol, but I would love to be with you.”

“But there, the direct descendant of King George III will speak to the direct successor of the very body that gathered in Independence Hall on July 4, 1776,” he continued. “If John Adams and George Washington or the king’s fifth great-grandfather could see that sight, they might be absolutely shocked. But probably only for a moment. Surely, they would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship.” 

The king did not deliver remarks at the arrival ceremony. 

After Mr. Trump concluded his speech, the Trumps and the royals ascended the exterior steps of the White House. From there, they observed a military procession and a flyover of four F-35 fighter jets that screamed overhead. They then entered the White House for closed-press meetings. 

In his remarks on the South Lawn, the president made reference to the “special relationship” the two countries have enjoyed for decades.

He talked about how, more than 80 years ago, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt “famously” met on a ship to outline the vision for the free world after World War II. 

“That understanding of our nation’s unique bond and role in history is the essence of our special relationship,” he said. “And we hope it will always remain that way.” 

The ship where the two world leaders met was called “The Prince of Wales,” the president said, a title Charles held longer than any other person in British history. 

The president also mentioned his late mother “loved” the royal family, and joked that she had a “crush” on Charles. “I also remember her saying, very clearly, ‘Charles, look, young Charles, he’s so cute.'”

Despite the seeming irony about starting the United States’ 250th anniversary celebrations with a state visit from the British monarchs, the president said “no tribute could be more appropriate.”

The principles and character Americans hold dear were drawn from centuries before on the other side of the Atlantic, he said in his remarks from the White House South Lawn. 

“Long before Americans had a nation or a Constitution, we first had a culture, a character and a creed,” he said. “Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts — moral courage, and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea.” 

The president opened his remarks by saying, “What a beautiful British day this is. And it really is,” a reference to the rainy weather in the capital. 

The first lady and queen are both dressed in off-white outfits. 

According to the White House, the white silk and wool jacket and skirt the first lady is wearing are a part of the Ralph Lauren Collection. Her straw hat is designed by Eric Javits. She’s wearing matte snake pumps by Manolo Blahnik. 

Just before 11 a.m., after the royals and the president and first lady took the South Lawn stage, they were greeted with a ceremonial cannon salute. 

As the “Star Spangled Banner” played, the first lady placed her hand over her heart and the president held a salute, while the king and queen stood with their arms at their sides.

The president and first lady walked to the driveway on the White House South Lawn ahead of the arrival of the king and queen. At 10:53 a.m., against the backdrop of British and American flags adorning the White House grounds, the king and queen’s car arrived. 

Reporters were positioned far away from the royals, with their line of sight blocked by a stage, so it was difficult to see their interactions as they greeted the president and first lady.

As a military band played, the president and the first lady guided the monarchs to a reception line of Trump Cabinet officials before taking their places on a raised platform for the formal ceremony. The reception line included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and others. 

Members of Congress and business leaders are among the many onlookers gathered on a rainy South Lawn of the White House to watch the arrival of the king and queen. 

A photojournalist spotted Apple’s Tim Cook and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, the White House press pool said. CBS News spotted Republican Rep. Steve Scalise, Republican Rep. Brian Mast and Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz. Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster are also in the crowd. 

Shortly before the king’s arrival, the president posted images on Truth Social from a Daily Mail column claiming a genealogist had traced the president’s lineage back to the king’s, and the two are distant cousins. 

“Revealed: How the Mail traced Trump’s family tree and found out he’s the king’s cousin!” the piece’s headline reads. 

“Wow, that’s nice. I’ve always wanted to live in Buckingham Palace!!!” Mr. Trump wrote. “I’ll talk to the King and Queen about this in a few minutes!!!”

The king, queen, president and first lady have a full schedule Tuesday, beginning with a greeting on the White House’s South Portico at 10:35 a.m. This will be a more grand and formal welcome than Monday’s greeting.

The pre-ceremony program will feature a U.S. military drum and bugle corps performance, and over 200 performers in total, the White House says. The U.S. Space Force, Marines and other military branches will participate in the arrival.

The king and queen will be welcomed with the song “Jubilant Fanfare” upon their arrival.

At 11:10 a.m., the Trumps and the royals will exchange gifts behind closed doors in the White House’s Blue Room. At 11:40 a.m., the president and king will hold a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office, also behind closed doors. It’s not clear how long the bilateral meeting will last. While they meet, the first lady and the queen will join students on the White House grounds to explore the history of the U.S. and the U.K.

The king will leave the White House in the afternoon and head to Capitol Hill, where he will speak at 3 p.m. to a joint meeting of Congress. 

The king and queen will return to the White House again at 7 p.m. for a tour and document viewing in the White House Residence. The state dinner in honor of the king and queen is slated to begin at 8:05 p.m. in the East Room, although guests will arrive sooner. 

Since the king’s visit is meant to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary, Charles is likely to speak about the relationship between the two countries, particularly during and after World War II. The king, who plays a different role in the U.K. than does the prime minister and generally isn’t involved in day-to-day governing, may rely greatly on history to inform his speech. 

“I expect the speech to be at a rather high-level and my expectation is that it will be somewhat historical — acknowledging the United States came from a revolution against his country, but then how we’ve sort of overcome that,” said Max Bergmann, director of the Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The question will be, Bergmann said, whether the king hints at issues like human rights and freedoms that the U.S. and U.K. supported together after World War II, and whether the king hints at anything that could be interpreted as a criticism of the current administration.

President Trump’s meeting with the king is expected to take place behind closed doors Tuesday morning, away from the eyes of reporters. They may discuss the U.S.’s war with Iran and other international issues, although Bergmann said his “baseline sense is this is going to be kind of a feel-good trip” focused on the historical ties of the two nations. 

Still, Charles has a delicate role to play. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Mr. Trump’s relationship has been strained amid the war with Iran. Mr. Trump has also criticized immigration policy under Starmer. 

“He’s got some fine thread and he has to thread it through a very very fine needle,” Bergmann said of the king.

Bergmann said the president and king may also discuss other concerns of the king, like international nutrition and health aid for poor nations. International aid from the U.S. took a hit with the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Mr. Trump told the BBC last week he thinks the king’s visit could help repair U.S.-U.K. relations.

“Absolutely,” the president told the BBC. “He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes.”

It’s not clear exactly when they first met, but it was more than two decades ago, when Mr. Trump was a businessman in New York society. Photos show Melania and Donald Trump chatting with Charles at an event at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in 2005. 

More formally, the president and first lady visited with him in the U.K. in 2019, when Charles was still the Prince of Wales. The Trumps visited again in September 2025, attending an elaborate state dinner hosted by the king and queen at Windsor Castle. 

“I know him well, I’ve known him for years,” Mr. Trump told the BBC last week. “He’s a brave man, and he’s a great man.”

Mr. Trump expressed his sympathy for the king after the king’s brother, Andrew Mountbatton-Windsor, was arrested on suspicion of public misconduct in office related to revelations from the Epstein files. The king had already stripped Andrew of his royal titles due to his connections to Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Mr. Trump called the situation with Andrew a “very sad thing.” 

Charles’ last official visit to Washington was in 2015, while he was still prince. He and Camilla met with the Obamas during that visit. 

When Charles and Camilla landed on U.S. soil Monday, they were welcomed by a U.S. military band and school children who presented posies of flowers.

Then, they headed to the White House, where President Trump and first lady Melania Trump welcomed them with a private tea and tour of the White House’s latest beehive.