Mission accomplished as king's speech to Congress goes down a storm [View all]

Charles quoted Wilde and Dickens in measured masterclass – and no tirade as yet from mad monarch in White House

(snip)

The British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over Donald Trump’s head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat and the special relationship lives to fight another day.

(snip)

But entirely predictably, the name Iran never’s passed Charles’s 77-year-old lips. Nor did Israel, nor immigration, nor climate, nor a bunch of other hot potatoes in the Trump era. Instead the king delivered an exquisitely measured masterclass in less-is-more, emphasising common bonds that long predate Trump and – hopefully! – will long outlast him.

(snip)

The king went on: “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Nato invoked article 5 for the first time, and the United Nations security council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together.” It did not take a giant leap of imagination to see this as gentle chiding of the Nato-bashing Trump.

And when the monarch spoke of “unyielding resolve needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people”, the roar of approval in the chamber may have been jarring to the ears of the attendant Vance.

(snip)

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/28/king-charles-congress-trump