It will be a definitive moment for King Charles III and the British monarchy. And for better or worse, it could help salvage UK-US relations after Donald Trump insulted Keir Starmer. In the public high point of his state visit, the king will mount the rostrum in the US House of Representatives on 28 April to address a joint session of Congress. Of all the British monarchs in the 250 years since US independence, only his late mother, Elizabeth II, was afforded this rare honour – and her accomplished 1991 performance brought the house down. This time could be more tricky.
Times have changed, as has the land of the free, and the biggest change is Trump. He will not be present on Capitol Hill when the king speaks, but his dark shadow lurks everywhere. Trump will undoubtedly portray Charles’s attendance at a separate White House state banquet as a royal endorsement of his person and policies. And it is precisely this galling prospect of a presidential propaganda coup that has led most people in Britain to oppose the visit. Starmer, in contrast, hopes it will set the badly soiled “special relationship” back on track.
If he thinks things can go back to how they were, Starmer’s dead wrong. Trump is a monster – an enemy both of Britain and US democracy. His disastrous Iran war is the latest in a series of irresponsible, ineffably foolish actions that have damaged UK interests, international stability, the global economy and the rule of law. Trump has denigrated Britain and its armed forces while sucking up to dictators such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin. He has taxed trade, undermined Nato, betrayed Ukraine and permitted Israel to turn Gaza, and now Lebanon, into killing fields. He has changed for the worse how many Britons feel about the US. Trump deserves to be castigated and shamed, not flattered and facilitated.
Over to Charles. He should use his speech to Congress to express Britain’s overwhelming detestation of Trumpism and the neofascist politics of hate, fear, lies, bigotry and divisiveness it personifies. As head of state, the king has a unique opportunity – for Britain’s unwritten constitution provides no actual bar – to speak up for the British people, the Commonwealth, the Church of England and the world. His friend Pope Leo has boldly shown the way. Now Charles must take the lead. By publicly confronting an immoral bully, he would be hailed internationally as a champion of what’s right and decent, not scorned as an enabler of evil. And who knows? He might make the monarchy great again.
Having the king freely express critical political opinions would be a stunning break with convention and tradition. But Starmer’s appeasement policy has miserably failed. From all that’s known of his private views, Charles presumably shares in the popular disgust for Trump – for example, over his climate crisis denial and threats to annex Canada, where the king is sovereign. Congressional leaders say the occasion is a chance to reflect on the republic’s “founding principles”. What they expect is gushing praise for post-1776 US democracy, the constitutional separation of powers and the Bill of Rights. What Charles should give them are some home truths about how today’s US leaders are betraying those principles.
This internationally televised king’s speech will be no made-up movie. It’s a real-life drama. Urgently required is a candid, factual, tough-love state of the union-type address. Coming from Charles, it would administer much-needed shock therapy to the US body politic. Yet it would also be an act of solidarity. After all, what are old friends for if they don’t offer honest criticism when things go haywire? And who better to offer it, on the 250th anniversary of the colonists’ rebellion, than a direct descendant of George III, the original “tyrant”? At the risk of committing lese-majesty, here is a suggested draft of the king’s speech:
“Mr Speaker, members of Congress, distinguished guests … Thank you for your welcome. I speak to you, and all the citizens of this wonderful country, as a friend, longstanding ally and lifelong admirer. But I confess I am deeply troubled. The US’s greatest gift to the world is its love of freedom and democracy. Yet today, at home and abroad, its achievements are at grave risk. Within the US, voting rights, free speech and the right to protest are under threat. A country built by immigrants now treats immigrants as enemies. Corruption, cronyism and chronic abuses of power are rampant. Constitutional ‘checks and balances’ fail to prevent a tilt towards tyranny.
“In much of the world, the US is no longer seen as a force for good but as a predator. Arbitrary protectionist tariffs strangle commerce, harm developing countries and chill international cooperation. Old friends, alliances and treaties are disparaged and ignored. Nato, guarantor of transatlantic security since 1949, is wrongly decried as a burden when in fact, it is the essential, shared barrier to Russian expansionism. The virtual US abandonment of Ukraine in its fight against Putin’s aggression sets a dire precedent for the future. Authoritarian states, notably China, take advantage of western disarray.
“Barely disguised contempt for the UN, the multilateral, collaborative system it represents, and international law, especially the laws of war, is self-defeating and profoundly worrying. Must the US now be considered a rogue state? Does it truly think might makes right? Do its leaders really believe they can act however they wish, with arrogance and impunity, against weaker neighbours such as Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Greenland? Do they honestly believe genocide in Gaza and mass murder in Iran serve the cause of lasting Middle East peace and justice?
“Every bit as alarming is the way the administration derides the climate crisis as a hoax, unabashedly exploits the Earth’s resources at unsustainable environmental cost, recklessly promotes toxic social media and tech monopolies and, despite the US’s unmatched wealth, unconscionably slashes humanitarian aid and development assistance to the poorest nations. Such behaviour reflects a base, selfish, even barbaric immorality that shames this God-fearing country.
“Mr Speaker, members of Congress: I speak these hard truths not out of anger and animosity, but out of amity. As always, the British people want you to succeed. But as a friend, I must warn you today, the US is on the wrong path. It is saddening to watch John Winthrop’s eternally attractive shining “city on a hill”, famously invoked by Ronald Reagan, retreat behind the walls of a barricaded fortress from which mercenary legions go forth to exploit, monetise, dominate and wage war on the world. The US is better than that. It’s time to rediscover the true American greatness that is rooted in courage, altruism and faith, not fear and hate. It’s time to come home.
“Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are not the exclusive preserve of one privileged people. They are the inalienable birthright of all mankind. God bless America – and God bless everyone else, too.”