King Charles praises Nato and urges defence of Ukraine in key speech during Trump visit | King Charles III

In his speech to Congress, King Charles praised the importance of Britain’s “special relationship” with the United States, touching on the importance of NATO, the defense of Ukraine and the climate crisis.

“America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more,” Charles said in his speech, which will be read as a veiled call to Donald Trump for the United States to return to traditional European alliances and reassert his country’s role as a defender of liberal values.

Charles’ appearance before a joint session of Congress – the first such royal address in 35 years – has been billed as the centerpiece of his four-day state visit to the United States, where he and Queen Camilla attend celebrations of the 250th anniversary of independence.

Charles praised the historic bond between the two countries, saying: “The alliance that our two nations have built over the centuries and for which we are deeply grateful to the American people is truly unique.”

But in comments that appeared to draw an approving response from Democratic lawmakers, he noted the roots of “the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances” in Magna Carta, one of the United Kingdom’s foundational legal documents.

And he called for “unyielding determination” on the part of “Ukraine and its bravest people” to “achieve a truly just and lasting peace.”

Speaking from the dais of the House of Representatives before an audience that included ministers from both parties and top military officials, he also emphasized the importance of action on the climate crisis.

He spoke of the “natural wonders” of the United States, referring to what Teddy Roosevelt called “the magnificent inheritance of the extraordinary natural splendor of this land, on which the greater part of its prosperity has always depended.”

“Yet even as we celebrate the beauty that surrounds us, our generation must decide how to address the collapse of critical natural systems that threatens much more than the harmony and essential diversity of nature.

“We ignore at our peril the fact that these natural systems, that is, nature’s own economy, form the basis of our prosperity and national security.”

He also underlined the importance of trade between the two countries at a time when Trump is threatening to impose more tariffs on Britain. “More broadly, we celebrate the $430 billion in annual trade that continues to grow, the $1.7 trillion in mutual investment that fuels this innovation, and the millions of jobs supported on both sides of the Atlantic in both economies.”

He said: “From the depths of the Atlantic to the cataclysmic melting ice caps of the Arctic, the commitment and expertise of the U.S. armed forces and their allies, committed to each other’s defense, protecting our citizens and our interests, and protecting North Americans and Europeans from our common enemies, lies at the heart of NATO.”

Charles also backed Aukus, the tripartite agreement with Australia, which he called “the most ambitious submarine program in history”.

“We are not embarking on these remarkable efforts out of collective sensitivity. We do so because they build greater collective resilience for the future, thus making our citizens safer for future generations,” he said.

This is Queen Elizabeth II. It was the first such speech by a British royal since Elizabeth II addressed parliament in 1991, and Charles noted that the world had become “more unstable and more dangerous” since then, making the alliance of nations more important than ever.

“The challenges we face are too great for any country to handle alone,” he said. “In this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past successes or assume that core principles are here to stay.”

Charles’ remarks were couched in diplomatic terms and were subtle about differences of opinion between the US and Keir Starmer’s government, including Britain’s refusal to join the US and Israel in bombing Iran and Trump’s complaints about British trade policy.

The speech followed a lavish arrival ceremony at the White House, where Trump declared during a military parade and jet flight that “Americans have no closer friends than the British.”

But in a sign of the sensitivities surrounding the visit, the king’s arrival at the White House took place privately for fear of a public spat between the two men, as happened when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited last year.

While congressional leaders welcomed the king’s visit, Republican Senate majority leader John Thune said in a speech on Tuesday: “The special relationship between our two nations has been a long and fruitful one, and it is fair to say that throughout our nation’s history we have had no other ally than Great Britain.”

His Democratic counterpart, minority leader Chuck Schumer, touched on some of the tensions that have developed between the Trump administration and the Starmer government over the US role in global alliances.

“King Charles III’s visit should remind the president of the United States and all elected officials in this country that friends and allies matter and, above all, that NATO matters to the security of Europe,” Schumer said.

“I encourage His Majesty to explain to the president the absolute importance of NATO. I hope he can listen to Trump and understand the seriousness of the situation.”

In his speech, the King said that “our two countries have always found ways to come together and create one of the most important alliances in human history.” He avoided mentioning Iran, instead describing military and intelligence cooperation as “connected through relationships measured in decades, not years.”

After Trump threatened to tear up the trade agreement he signed with Starmer and impose “massive tariffs” if Britain did not withdraw its digital services tax on US companies, the king described the countries’ long-standing commercial ties as “strong foundations that will continue to be built on for generations yet to be born.”

He spoke before a Congress controlled by Republicans but sharply divided on a range of issues as lawmakers look ahead to November, when voters will vote in midterm elections that could return Democrats to power.

But the business of the two chambers occasionally strays into issues that Buckingham Palace would generally want to avoid. Last year, Congress, in a near-unanimous vote, passed a bill requiring the release of files on disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, just after the king stripped his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal title over concerns about their dealings. He was later arrested on charges related to his dealings with Epstein while serving as a trade ambassador between 2001 and 2011.

The investigative House oversight committee has since asked Mountbatten-Windsor to answer questions about Epstein, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, and some lawmakers have said she should be subpoenaed if she does not appear voluntarily.