King Charles III’s state visit was carried out with impeccable diplomacy.
Predictably, both the king and President Donald Trump invoked the illustrious past binding Britain and America. Much of what was said was not only appropriate but true.
Recommended Stories
Britain gave America far more than a common language. Common law, foundational principles of liberty rooted in Magna Carta and the Glorious Revolution, and even the names of entire states bear the unmistakable stamp of the mother country. The king’s quip that Americans might well be speaking French were it not for Britain was more than clever speechwriting — it was historically true. The Anglo-American victory in the Seven Years’ War, which a young George Washington started, expelled France from the continent while also setting the stage for the disputes that ultimately produced the American Revolution and the Declaration of Independence.
It was a reminder that the United States did not emerge in a vacuum. America’s founders were profoundly English even as they rebelled against colonial rule. Magna Carta’s assertion that even sovereign power must be constrained by law and the Glorious Revolution’s triumph over absolute monarchy were indispensable influences on the American constitutional order.
Yet, therein lies the irony.
While Americans still revere the Magna Carta and the Glorious Revolution as foundational, contemporary British political discourse often treats these milestones as little more than dusty historical artifacts.
This is not to say Britons have forgotten their history, but rather that much of the political class and cultural establishment is uncomfortable celebrating it. Recent governments of both the Right and Left have been more fixated on post-national sensibilities.
For Americans, however, these traditions remain deeply relevant.
The founders did not merely borrow from British history. They built upon it. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the broader American political tradition descend from struggles that began at Runnymede and were refined in 1688.
Still, as I predicted, the state visit was mostly about nostalgia.
State visits are, by design, theatrical exercises in symbolism. They are less about specifics and more about atmosphere, relationships, and soft power.
The king’s performance was a master class in diplomacy, but that should surprise no one. This was not his first rodeo. Having met every American president since Dwight Eisenhower, he has spent decades preparing for precisely this kind of moment.
His role was not to negotiate treaties or hammer out trade agreements. It was to embody continuity, stability, and the unique bond between two countries whose alliance remains among the world’s most consequential.
And on that front, he succeeded.
At a time when relations between Washington and London have experienced strain, particularly amid shifting geopolitical priorities, Britain needed more than conventional diplomacy. His Majesty’s Government under scandal-plagued Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer needed the monarchy to do what only the king could do.
Ultimately, the state visit achieved its principal objective: resetting relations. Through carefully choreographed nostalgia, historical affirmation, and Charles’s unparalleled diplomatic skill, Britain has once again secured Trump’s favor.
That may not produce immediate policy breakthroughs, but it reinforces something equally valuable: the enduring perception of Britain and America as kindred nations bound not merely by strategic interests but by a unique shared heritage.
WELCOMING KING CHARLES, TRUMP SKEWERS MULTICULTURALISM
For all the pomp and ceremony, that was the true purpose of this visit.
His Majesty reminded Americans of Britain’s extraordinary role in shaping the principles they still cherish, even if Britain itself is less certain about them. In doing so, he also demonstrated the enduring magic of monarchy itself: an institution uniquely capable of transforming history, symbolism, and heritage into a form of diplomatic power no elected politician can replicate.
Dennis Lennox (@dennislennox) is a political commentator and public affairs consultant.
