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King Charles Addresses Congress

State of the Union: It was only the second such speech by a British monarch.
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King Charles III of the United Kingdom addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday evening, the first such speech from a British monarch in more than 30 years and only the second ever. In his speech, Charles paid tribute to the historic relationship between the U.S. and the UK. He also discussed contemporary issues, defending the importance of NATO and affirming support for Ukraine.

Listing similarities between the principles of the Magna Carta, the Enlightenment, and America’s founding documents, Charles observed that the principle of checks and balances had its “foundation” in British law.

At a white-tie state dinner later that day, President Donald Trump toasted the “eternal bond” between the two countries and said that Charles shares his view that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon. “Charles agrees with me even more than I do,” Trump said.

The speech comes after the publication on Tuesday of leaked remarks from Britain's ambassador to Washington, Christian Turner, who this February told a group of students that America's only special relationship is “probably Israel,” not the United Kingdom.

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