Northwest lawmakers welcome King Charles to Capitol as British monarch touts U.S.-U.K. alliance

WASHINGTON - In a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, King Charles III called on U.S. lawmakers to uphold the longstanding alliance between the United States and the United Kingdom as Americans mark 250 years of independence from Britain.

The British monarch arrived in the United States at a time of heightened tension between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran and Trump's threats to leave the NATO alliance. In language that was subtle by U.S. standards but relatively pointed by his own, Charles urged Americans to see the value of what leaders of both countries have often called the "special relationship" between them.

"I pray with all my heart that our alliance will continue to defend our shared values, with our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth, and across the world," the king said, "and that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking."

In contrast to Trump's State of the Union address that took place in the same setting two months earlier, Democrats and Republicans alike stood and applauded throughout the king's speech. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, a Spokane Republican and member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Charles "hit a home run," before suggesting that a cricket analogy might be more apt and adding, "He avoided any sticky wickets."

"I appreciated his words on our shared cultural values and military cooperation, and I was pleased that he stayed above the American political fray," Baumgartner said. "What I didn't want to hear was a lecture from the king, and he certainly did not give a lecture."

The ceremonial committee that escorted King Charles and Queen Camilla into the House chamber included Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash.

Risch, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, introduced a bipartisan resolution Tuesday morning along with other leaders of both parties, formally welcoming the royals for a four-day visit that began Monday with tea at the White House and a garden party at the U.K. ambassador's residence in Washington.

"The United States and the United Kingdom share a centuries-old alliance," Risch said in a statement. "The American and British people have stood side by side through world wars, economic downturns, and any number of global challenges, and through it all our 'special relationship' remains strong today. United by our shared values and history, this visit will only reinforce this longstanding friendship between our two countries and help ensure it continues for centuries more."

Charles said it was his 20th visit to the United States but the first since he was crowned king in 2023. His late mother, Queen Elizabeth II, last addressed a joint session of Congress in 1991, when then-Rep. Tom Foley, a Spokane Democrat, presided over the chamber as speaker of the House.

After thanking congressional leaders for inviting him to the Capitol, which he called a "citadel of democracy," Charles jokingly promised that he was "not here as part of some cunning rear-guard action" to bring the United States back under British control after a quarter-millennium of independence. Then the king's remarks turned more serious, as he cast Americans as inheritors of British principles that link the two nations to this day.

Charles noted that the Magna Carta, a 13th-century English royal charter of rights, has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court more than 160 times, "not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances."

That line drew the first clear sign of partisan division in the chamber, as Democrats rose to their feet and roared their applause while Republicans followed more cautiously. Still, the king's apparent reference to Trump's extraordinary assertion of executive power - and GOP lawmakers' reluctance to challenge it - was subtle enough that chamber didn't descend into the partisan rancor that has defined recent State of the Union addresses.

The king made several other references to Trump's rhetoric, observing that "America's words carry weight and meaning," but suggested that U.S. policy is ultimately more important when he said, "The actions of this great nation matter even more."

Charles spoke about serving with pride in the Royal Navy, whose ships Trump has derided as "toys" in comparison to the U.S. Navy, and reminded his audience that British troops served alongside Americans in Afghanistan and Iraq. The invasion of Afghanistan in response to the 9/11 terror attacks, 25 years ago this September, remains the only time a NATO member has invoked the alliance's mutual defense pledge, as British and other allied troops came to the aid of the United States.

Angry that NATO allies have refused to join the U.S.-Israeli assault on Iran that has resulted in a global economic crisis, Trump has repeatedly threatened to withdraw the United States from the alliance, but only Congress has that power. The bipartisan applause when the king touted NATO's importance suggested that is unlikely to happen.

Noting that nearly 200 Brits lost their lives in Iraq and nearly 500 in Afghanistan, Baumgartner said he appreciated working alongside his British counterparts during his time as a U.S. government employee and contractor in those countries. The congressman met his wife Eleanor, who is British, when both were working in Afghanistan.

"Being married to someone from Britain and visiting the country frequently, I care about the relationship both as a policy maker and on a personal level," he said.

The Eastern Washington lawmaker acknowledged there is "tension" between the two countries but said the king "met the moment" by fulfilling his role, which is to stay out of politics. He cheered the king's focus on building the U.K. military and celebrating the cultural links between the nations.

"I think what the king displayed is a Britain that's proud of its history and our shared values," Baumgartner said. "That's the Britain that we want, that America and the world want, and that we need."

Near the end of his remarks, Charles recalled the visit of his grandfather, George VI, to Washington D.C. in 1939, when "the forces of fascism in Europe were on the march, and some time before the United States had joined us in the defense of freedom."

"Our shared values prevailed," the king said. "Today, we find ourselves in a new era, but those values remain. It is an era that is, in many ways, more volatile and more dangerous than the world to which my late mother spoke, in this chamber, in 1991. The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone."

Orion Donovan Smith's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.