On April 28, King Charles III addressed a joint session of the United States Congress in a speech that was a master stroke of diplomatic genius. The 77-year-old monarch was tasked to smooth over the tensions between US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer. This he did with royal elegance and charm, but his speech before Congress was an unmistakable rebuke that struck at the heart of Trump’s authoritarian agenda. The King offered a history lesson that refuted Trump’s unilateralism and centralization of power. Charles spoke of the alliance and mutually beneficial partnership between the US and the UK, and he also called for cooperation with the rest of Europe, NATO, and the wider world. Throughout his remarks, the King repeatedly extolled the virtues of democracy and emphasized the need for limits to executive power. The King took aim at Trump’s attempts to consolidate power by referencing the 1215 Magna Carta, the basis for constitutional law and democracy around the world. In a message that seems tailored for Trump, this seminal document is best known for having established that the monarch is subject to the law, not above it. Specifically, the principle that the King is subject to legal constraints rather than ruling by arbitrary whim. Charles also mentioned the 1689 British Bill of Rights that established parliamentary supremacy over the monarch, legalized free elections, and secured free speech. This act, which confirmed the rights of the subject, directly influenced the U.S. Bill of Rights. Several other remarks sharply contradict the president’s position. The King spoke about “all people of all faiths and of none.” This inclusive message was aimed at Trump’s racism and xenophobia. While Trump wants to divide, Charles spoke about the need to “defend our shared values”. Trump has been reluctant to provide meaningful aid to Ukraine; in response, Charles invoked the Allied Powers that defeated the Nazis more than 80 years ago as a reminder of the stakes and the need for support today. The King countered Trump’s lawfare and attacks on judges by affirming the importance of the rule of law and an independent, impartial judiciary. The King touted the virtues of culture, education, and research in response to Trump’s culture wars, efforts to close the Department of Education, and slash funding for research. In response to Trump’s environmentally destructive policies and dismissal of climate change, Charles mentioned “melting ice caps” and spoke about how it is our “shared responsibility to safeguard nature ...our most precious asset,” Adding, “Our generation must decide how to address the collapse of natural systems.” In this address, Charles was speaking directly to the American people, only mentioning Trump once in his 28-minute speech. He made a plea for peace and expressed his hope that, by working with international partners, the world can “stem the beating of ploughshares into swords”. In a plea for multilateralism, the UK sovereign ended his speech with a warning to “avoid the clarion call of being more inward looking”. King Charles summarized the defining theme of the speech when he said, “Executive power is subject to checks and balances”. This is the moment when a real king schooled a wannabe king. During a White House state dinner in front of 100 distinguished guests, the UK monarch unveiled his criticism and took a couple of parting shots, this time directly at Trump. Charles referenced Trump’s ballroom renovations and alluded to Britain’s burning of the White House in 1814. The King then said, “You recently commented, Mr President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” referring to remarks made by Trump at the World Economic Forum earlier this year. The King said, “Dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French...” Trump embraces the monarch because it conditions the landscape for the fulfillment of his own imperial agenda, but Charles outmaneuvered him. The King did more than just voice his reservations, he also issued trenchant observations that robustly rebuked the president. Trump is ephemeral while Charles III looks at the world from a historical vantage point. The British monarch displayed the power of diplomacy alongside a profound understanding of American history and the intent of the Founding Fathers. This is a perspective that Trump clearly lacks, and it is one of the things that makes this speech so remarkable. Despite being hit in the head by a diplomatic 2x4, the President had no idea that he had been dressed down. It is undeniably ironic that at a time when millions of Americans are parading through the streets screaming “No Kings,” a real monarch came to the U.S. to dissuade Americans from accepting the authoritarian agenda of a wannabe dictator.
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