For just the second time in a century, a British monarch stood before the united chambers of the United States Congress. But where Elizabeth II in 1991 had spoken as a close ally of a sitting president, her son Charles III arrived on Monday in a very different Washington — one where the Republican incumbent has questioned NATO, halted arms to Ukraine, and dismissed Britain’s aircraft carriers as playthings. The King’s response was not confrontation. That is not his role. But in his choice of what to emphasise, what to omit, and what to gently correct, Charles III delivered something rare in today’s Capitol: a bipartisan rebuke, delivered with a bow tie and a smile.
Monarch reminds lawmakers of Article 5 after Trump’s criticism
The King was greeted with prolonged standing ovations, and the mood in the chamber was notably warm and bipartisan – a rarity in today’s deeply polarised Congress.
Dedicating a significant portion of his speech to NATO, Charles addressed the alliance that President Trump has repeatedly criticised for what he calls a lack of engagement in the war against Iran. The King reminded lawmakers that the United States itself was the first to invoke Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty following the September 11 attacks.
“We answered that call together,” Charles said, “as our peoples have done for over a century – shoulder to shoulder through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and those moments that have defined our shared security.”
An mention of Ukraine drew one of the most impassioned responses of the evening. Charles declared that the same “unwavering resolve” shown by Americans and Britons in past conflicts “is needed now for the defence of Ukraine and its bravest of peoples – to secure a truly just and lasting peace.” Many lawmakers rose to applaud. The moment carried added weight given that Trump, since returning to the White House in January 2025, has halted most military aid to Kyiv.
From Navy service to green policy — a royal rebuttal
The monarch also gently rebutted a recent remark by Trump, who had dismissed British aircraft carriers as “toys.” Charles noted that he himself had served in the Royal Navy more than 50 years ago. On the environment – a long-standing personal cause – he urged legislators to “decide how to stop the collapse of critical natural systems,” stressing that this is a matter of national security. Trump, by contrast, has for years called green policies a “hoax.”
Two topics were conspicuously avoided. The conflict in the Middle East was mentioned only in passing, despite the fact that the American-Israeli war with Iran has seriously strained relations between Washington and London. The King also made no direct mention of the victims of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, some of whom had sought a meeting during his visit. The King’s brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, remains under investigation by British authorities over his contacts with Epstein – allegations he denies.
Wilde, Westminster hostage jokes and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address
Lighter moments punctuated the address. Charles quoted Oscar Wilde, joked about the British parliamentary tradition of holding an MP “hostage” during the King’s Speech, and reminded Congress that the 250th anniversary of American independence was, “as we say in Britain, rather recent.” That line drew the loudest laughter of the evening.
He closed with a quotation from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address: “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.” The King expressed his hope that the Anglo-American alliance would “continue to defend our shared values,” and warned against “calls to retreat ever further into ourselves.”
The importance of this address for Israel should not be underestimated. In stressing the need for international co-operation, King Charles touched upon issues that resonate far beyond the US and the UK – including Israel. It served as a powerful reminder of the value of alliances in meeting global challenges.
