Mission
accomplished as king’s speech to Congress goes down a storm
Charles
quoted Wilde and Dickens in measured masterclass – and no tirade as yet from
mad monarch in White House
David
Smith
David
Smith in Washington
Tue 28
Apr 2026 16.57 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/28/king-charles-congress-trump
A flick
of Oscar Wilde here, a nod to Henry Kissinger there, a sprinkling of Charles
Dickens here, a dollop of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt there. Job
done!
The
British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with
humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over
Donald Trump’s head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and
minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat
and the special relationship lives to fight another day.
But the
king’s central message – of two great nations entwined in destiny – was also an
inadvertent reminder of two empires that look increasingly shabby these days
with rightwing populists on the march and the ghost of the sex offender Jeffrey
Epstein hovering in the shadows.
Charles
became the first British king to address the Congress almost exactly 250 years
after the US denounced his fifth great-grandfather as a tyrant and declared its
independence. “You’ll be back,” predicted George III in Hamilton and yet
cricket, damp and a lack of air conditioning never clinched the deal.
What
would America’s founding fathers have made of seeing George III’s direct
descendant speak to their successors? Donald Trump mused at the White House on
Tuesday: “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.”
Well,
Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and co would surely be more shocked to
discover that they now have their own mad king in the White House. If Charles
spots signs saying “No kings” on his travels, he shouldn’t take it personally.
The House
of Representatives chamber was chock-full for the king’s speech. Vice-president
JD Vance was applauded on his way in, followed by senators and cabinet members
who took prime seats near the front.
At least
some go weak-kneed at the whiff of royalty. At a British embassy garden party
on Monday, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas gushingly introduced the king to his
daughters. Maybe this explains why Republicans worship the wannabe monarch in
the White House.
Others
had a point to make. Adam Schiff of California posted on social media on
Tuesday: “We have ignored and assailed the British to the point where we are at
war with Iran, and without a friend to be found.”
But
entirely predictably, the name Iran never’s passed Charles’s 77-year-old lips.
Nor did Israel, nor immigration, nor climate, nor a bunch of other hot potatoes
in the Trump era. Instead the king delivered an exquisitely measured
masterclass in less-is-more, emphasising common bonds that long predate Trump
and – hopefully! – will long outlast him.
Wearing a
blue suit and grey patterned tie, Charles, accompanied by Queen Camilla,
entered the chamber to rapturous applause at 3.06pm. It was the rarest sight
and sound: Democrats and Republicans united, with Nancy Pelosi looking just as
enthusiastic as John Thune. Even presidents don’t get such a welcome when they
come here to deliver the State of the Union address.
When
Charles began by expressing gratitude to Congress and the American people for
“welcoming us to the United States to mark this semiquincentennial year of the
declaration of independence”, the chamber erupted in cheers and a standing
ovation on both the floor and in the public gallery – finally, here was a man
who could make American feel good about themselves!
The king
went on: “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!’
There was
deep, resonant laughter and Charles, with a wiggle of the eyebrows, looked
pleased at how the quip had gone down. Moments later, he pushed the mirth
button again with: “This is a city which symbolises a period in our shared
history, or what Charles Dickens might have called A Tale of Two Georges.”
You had
to be there.
“King
George never set foot in America and, please rest assured, I am not here as
part of some cunning rearguard action!” Another laugh. He was on a roll!
Charles
said Magna Carta has been 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”. A dig at Trump’s authoritarian ambitions? Democrats
did seem to applaud that one with special vim.
And when
the king characterised Congress as “not by the will of one, but by the
deliberation of many”, there was a shout of “All right!” from the Democratic
side of the house.
Charles
continued to make some discreet political jabs. He said he had served with
“immense pride” in the Royal Navy – the same one that Trump has been
disparaging lately.
The king
went on: “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Nato invoked article 5 for
the first time, and the United Nations security council was united in the face
of terror, we answered the call together.” It did not take a giant leap of
imagination to see this as gentle chiding of the Nato-bashing Trump.
And when
the monarch spoke of “unyielding resolve needed for the defence of Ukraine and
her most courageous people”, the roar of approval in the chamber may have been
jarring to the ears of the attendant Vance.
Charles
is famously an environmentalist who talks to plants. We will never know if
conversing with Trump reminded him of Audrey II, the man-eater from Little Shop
of Horrors. But in his speech to Congress he did cite Teddy Roosevelt in
speaking of the need to protect “the glorious heritage” of America’s natural
splendour.
Mission
accomplished, he departed the chamber with handshakes and smiles. Uneasy lies
the head that wears a crown but, thanks to some canny speechwriting and a book
of quotations, the king had hopefully made his point without triggering a fiery
tirade from the mad monarch on Truth Social.
