King Charles Tells Congress U.S.-U.K. Alliance Is “More Important Than Ever”

King Charles III on Tuesday became the first British monarch in 35 years to address Congress, urging lawmakers to “rededicate” the U.S.-U.K. alliance and to resist what he called “clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking,” CBS News and NPR reported.

Speaking for nearly 30 minutes to a packed House chamber on the second day of his state visit, Charles said the partnership “is more important today than it has ever been” and called it “one of the most consequential alliances in human history,” according to CBS News. “America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence,” he said. “The actions of this great nation matter even more.” He added that “we do not always agree,” but that the story of the two countries is “a story of reconciliation, renewal and remarkable partnership.”

The king cited NATO, an alliance Mr. Trump has threatened to leave, noting ties “measured not in years, but in decades,” and said the only time NATO’s collective defense was triggered was after 9/11, NPR reported. He pointed to joint work on F-35 fighters and the U.S.-U.K.-Australia submarine partnership, CBS News said. He briefly addressed Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ dinner. “Such acts of violence will never succeed,” he said, drawing a standing ovation, CBS News reported.

NPR’s London correspondent Lauren Frayer called it a “very political speech” for a typically apolitical monarch, noting references to interfaith values and checks on executive power, and said many Britons cheered the king online. NBC News reported that British government officials write the king’s political speeches, though Buckingham Palace aides said the tone and language were probably his, and described its references to NATO, inclusivity and Ukraine as indirect rejoinders to the president.

The president, who hosted the royal couple earlier in the day with a military ceremony and a 21-gun salute, was warm toward the king, NPR’s Franco Ordoñez said, even as he has attacked Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Britain’s refusal to join the Iran war. Mr. Trump said at the state dinner that “Charles agrees with me even more than I do” that Iran must never have a nuclear weapon, NBC News reported; a palace spokesperson said the king “is naturally mindful of his government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”

The trip comes as relations are at their lowest point in decades, NBC News said, over the Iran war, NATO and immigration. The king travels to New York on Wednesday, according to NBC News.