All smiles, little sign of strain as King Charles visits White House to restore U.S.-U.K. relations

ruff welcomes billie jean moffitt king charles ix, talks nigh 'cherished' bond between U.S. And U.K.

What this royal expert is watching for in King Charles's speech to U.S. Congress

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Queen Elizabeth addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress

I, too, am struck by some parallels between Charles's state visit and one carried out by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in 1957.

In both instances the British government of the day has leaned on the Royal Family as a soft power tool, wielding ceremony and personal charisma to patch things up when bilateral relations have gone awry.

The U.K. Dispatched Elizabeth to mend relations with the U.S. After the Suez Canal crisis badly strained Anglo-American relations.

The British and French, alongside Israel, secretly hatched a plan to take that crucial shipping artery by force in 1956. The then-U.S. President, Dwight Eisenhower, was furious over being kept in the dark and feared the Western action would alienate Arab allies in the region. 

To cajole the U.K. Into standing down, Eisenhower threatened to sell U.S.-held British bonds, which would have sent the pound sterling into a tailspin.

Lester B. Pearson, then Canada's foreign affairs minister, helped end this conflict by advocating for a UN peacekeeping force — a plan Eisenhower endorsed.

With Anglo-American relations at a low point (among the lowest since the Revolutionary War), Elizabeth was sent to charm Britain back into Eisenhower's good graces.

It worked.

Eisenhower delivered a glowing tribute to the Queen, the U.K. And Canada while toasting her at a state dinner in her honour. 

"My faith in the future of these two great countries and the whole Commonwealth of the British nations, indeed of the whole free world, is absolutely unimpeachable," he said after spending some time with Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip. 

"This was one ceremonial visit we were sorry to see end," the president said.

Queen Elizabeth addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress

Queen Elizabeth had a quip and serious comments for members of Congress in this excerpt from a news item from her 1991 state visit to the U.S.

King Charles — so far — hasn't run into a high-profile miscue that greeted his mother on her visit to the United States in 1991.

Much attention at the time focused on the fact that when Queen Eizabeth went to make some remarks, she was well and truly obscured by a podium and microphones that were too high.

The Queen had a bit of fun with the moment herself when during her address to a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress, she said: "I do hope you can see me today from where you are."

Members of Congress had a hearty laugh, and the Queen went on to make what was the first address by a British monarch to that group. Charles's address today is the second.

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Balcony appearances are de rigueur for King Charles and Queen Camilla at Buckingham Palace in London and have become one of the most iconic — and repeated — royal moments at any official occasion.

But there was another balcony appearance just now that had its own bit of déjà vu.

Charles and Camilla joined Trump and his wife, Melania, on the balcony of the South Portico at the White House.

Nearly 56 years ago, Charles also stood on the balcony, that time with his younger sister, Princess Anne, while they were on a visit to the U.S. 

Standing with them were U.S. President of the day and his wife: Richard and Pat Nixon.

Having left the welcome ceremony, Trump and Charles are moving onto private, bilateral meetings for the next hour or so.

Themes of unity and a shared history between the two nations have been prominent during the events so far, but part of the King's mission on this state visit is to try to mend strained relations, including over the Iran war.

Trump welcomes King Charles, talks about 'cherished' bond between U.S. And U.K.

U.S. President Donald Trump welcomed King Charles and Queen Camilla to Washington on Tuesday, speaking about the history between the U.S. And U.K., his own family ties to Scotland and the 'special relationship' between the two countries.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who Trump has called "no Winston Churchill," dispatched the King to Washington, in part, to fix things up between the two countries. 

To that end it seems like Trump is showing some grace today in the presence of the monarch.

In the closing lines of his speech, Trump says the U.S. And Britain must "remember what has made our countries the two most exceptional nations the world has ever known."

"Together, let us go forward with even stronger resolve to carry on our sacred devotion to liberty and to the traditions of excellence that have been our shared gift of all mankind," he said.

Trump will not attend the King's congressional address tonight. While he says he wanted to be there, he decided to watch remotely, saying that attending "might be a step too far" and not in line with expected "protocol."

"I was thinking of going, but they said, 'I don't know, that might be a step too far.' I would love to go. It's not supposed to be protocol, but I would love to be with you." Trump said.

According to the congressional record, then-president George H.W. Bush was also not in the chamber for Queen Elizabeth's address in 1991.

"You're going to make a speech that's going to make everybody very envious of that beautiful accent of yours. Very elegant. He's a very elegant man."

While there has undoubtedly been tension between Trump and Starmer in recent months, notably over the war in Iran, the U.S. President said the two countries have a "cherished bond."

"I am very certain that it will continue that way long into the future," Trump said.

The president said revolutionary heroes like John Adams and George Washington would be "absolutely shocked" to see a descendant of King George III – who the U.S. Declaration of Independence calls a "tyrant" — making a speech in Congress.

While shocked, Trump says they would also be pleased. 

"They would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship.

Think of that very, very long ago, difficult war. And yet those wounds did indeed heal into the most cherished of friendships.

"They would be moved beyond words to know that the soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the G.I.'s who together saved the free world as brothers in arms and brothers in eternity.

"If they could see us today, our ancestors would surely be filled with awe and pride that the Anglo-American revolution and human freedom was never, ever extinguished, but carried forward across centuries, across oceans and across history."

As we mentioned earlier, Trump's mother, Mary MacLeod, was an ardent monarchist.

He says she came from "very serious Scotland," the Hebrides archipelago, where she grew up revering the royal family. 

"She loved the Queen," Trump said, recounting watching the royals on TV together. "She'd say, 'Donald, look at how beautiful that is.' She really did love the family." 

Trump also revealed that his mother thought the "young Charles" was "so cute," which prompted a smile and a shrug from the monarch. 

"My mother had a crush on Charles," Trump says with a chuckle. "I wonder what she's thinking now."

Trump said the British conquered this "wild and untamed continent," and the colonists who settled here "set loose the ancient English love of liberty and Great Britain's distinctive sense of glory, destiny and pride."

"The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs of this majestic inheritance. Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage, their hearts beat with an English faith."

Trump started his speech by lavishing praise on the Anglo-American relationship, saying the U.S. Has no closer friends than the British.

Trump said the country owes its existence to the English colonists who settled what is now the United States.

"Honouring the British King might seem an ironic beginning to our celebration of 250 years of American independence, but in fact, no tribute could be more appropriate," Trump said.

"We first had a culture, a character, and a creed before we ever proclaimed our independence. Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts: moral courage. And it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea."

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