King Charles III: Royal Counsellor

 IT TOOK AN English king to remind America of its values. King Charles III didn’t go to Washington as a con­quistador but a counsellor. The man who spent 70 years as heir is only the second British monarch after his mother to address Congress, but having waited for the crown longer than any predecessor, Charles’ twin virtues are patience and perspective. In the Capitol, he paired levity with pointed reminders of alliances, obligations and principles. He had ar­rived after a “friendly federal assassin” stormed DC’s premier media gala and as he spoke, around him lay the wreckage of the transatlantic relationship.

 Just last week, Reuters had published a leaked Pentagon memo proposing withdrawal of US diplomatic recognition of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands in retaliation for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s steadfast refusal to militarily assist the US in Iran. In 40 minutes of carefully chosen words, Charles praised NATO which Donald Trump has threatened to quit, invoked Ukraine, advocated safeguarding nature, empha­sised the importance of a free press and an independent judi­ciary, among other things. Little of that would please Trump but it was the king’s way of saying what he said that made the US president call the speech “great”.

It wasn’t easy for Charles. He has been battling cancer since early 2024. His brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is mired in the Epstein scandal. And yet, stature, constitu­tional restraint, moral authority, and a personal relationship with Trump made Charles the perfect vehicle for the message he delivered. Perhaps the masterstroke was the bell from HMS Trump the king gave the president—a reminder of the British role in the Pacific War and ties that bind the Anglosphere.