Washington – time
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Tuesday that the United States has no “closer friends than the British,” during a reception ceremony for King Charles III and Queen Camilla at the White House.
On the second day of the British royal couple’s official visit to the United States, which comes amid tensions between the two countries due to the war in Iran, the British monarch is scheduled to deliver a speech before the US Congress in the afternoon.
Charles’s speech will focus on the historical relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, two countries that “have always known how to find ways to rapprochement,” according to excerpts of his speech distributed by his media office. On Tuesday morning, Trump and his wife Melania held an official reception for Charles III and Queen Camilla at the White House, which included the firing of 21 artillery shots and a parade of the honor guard.
“What a beautiful British day,” Trump said, mounting a podium installed on the South Lawn of the White House.
He continued, “Since we gained our independence centuries ago, Americans have not had closer friends than the British,” adding that the two countries have a “special relationship and we hope it will always remain that way.”
Trump and King Charles III will then hold a private meeting in the Oval Office, while their wives participate in an event centered on education and artificial intelligence.
The royal couple returns to the White House in the afternoon, where a dinner will be held.
During the day, Charles III delivers a speech that lasts about twenty minutes before Congress, 250 years after the American colonies declared their independence from the British Crown on July 4, 1776.
Freedom and equality
This is only the second time that a British monarch has delivered a speech at the Capitol in Washington, after Queen Elizabeth II’s speech in 1991.
Charles III’s visit comes at a time of tension in the “special relationship” between the two countries, which he will describe in his speech as “one of the greatest alliances in the history of mankind.” Although Trump is courting the British monarch, whom he describes as an “excellent person,” he openly criticizes Prime Minister Keir Starmer because of London’s reservations regarding the war that the United States and Israel launched against Iran in February, as well as the Labor leader’s refusal to allow British bases to be used in the first American strikes on the Islamic Republic.
In addition to attacking Starmer, Trump criticized the British Army and Navy, and belittled the sacrifices made by the British fighting alongside the Americans in Afghanistan.
Charles III will be reminded that defending democratic ideals is “essential to freedom and equality” in the face of international challenges, and he will be reminded of the many alliances that bind the two countries, especially NATO.
The 77-year-old king will deliver a brief speech in the evening during the official dinner held in a reception hall in the White House, followed by a reception in the evening at the British Embassy.
The royal couple’s visit takes place a few days after the attack that occurred during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and is suspected to have been targeting the US President, and Charles III is expected to refer to it in his speech.
After heading Wednesday to New York, where the King and Queen will visit the memorial to the victims of September 11, 2001, the couple will board the plane Thursday to the Bermuda Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
