King Charles III of Britain is set to address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, where he will acknowledge the current strains between London and the Trump administration but stress the enduring strength of the transatlantic alliance.
According to a preview of his remarks provided by Buckingham Palace and reported by The New York Times, the king will say that “the two countries have always found ways to come together.” He plans to frame the past 250 years as a story of “reconciliation and renewal” between the United States and the United Kingdom, which he will describe as “one of the greatest alliances in human history.”
The king’s speech will highlight joint accomplishments, including cooperation in the Middle East and Ukraine, and will reference the NATO defense pact and the AUKUS submarine partnership with Australia and the United States. The address comes as King Charles's state visit aims to mend US-UK ties that have frayed over the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
Relations between Washington and London have become strained in recent weeks, with President Trump hurling insults at British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for what he characterizes as the U.K.'s failure to fully back American military operations. Trump has imposed a blockade on Iranian ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and the waterway is currently blocked by Iranian mines and threats from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The U.K., along with France, is leading an international coalition to troubleshoot plans for securing open navigation through the strait. Starmer and other European leaders have provided defensive assistance and allowed the U.S. to use their air bases for operations over the more than two-month war, but they have held back from joining offensive operations due to concerns about the war’s legality and public backlash.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are visiting Washington to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain and to try to smooth tensions between Trump and the British government. The king’s address to Congress follows in the footsteps of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who delivered a historic speech to lawmakers during the U.S. Bicentennial in 1976.
This is the monarch’s first state visit to the United States since his accession, and it has not been without controversy. The Epstein scandal has shadowed the visit, with some lawmakers pressing the king to address victims of the disgraced financier in his speech. Representative Ro Khanna has been among those urging the king to raise the issue.
Despite the diplomatic frictions, the visit underscores the deep institutional ties that remain between the two countries, even as political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic navigate a rocky period in the relationship. The king’s message of reconciliation and renewal is intended to remind lawmakers and the American public of the alliance’s resilience.
