Charles today will become the second-ever British monarch to address Congress.
His speech comes as he seeks to smooth over the relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., top allies that have faced some tension in recent months.
Charles’ speech is expected to last approximately 20 minutes, according to a Buckingham Palace official. Though his address was written by the U.K. government to support its strategic priorities, the language and tone is “often the king’s own,” according to the official.
At the top of his speech, Charles is expected to address Saturday’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, according to the official. The royals called the Trumps to express their concerns about the shooting after the dinner, a source familiar with the matter told NBC News yesterday.
The main theme of the speech, the Buckingham Palace official said, is that despite these challenging times, the U.S. and the U.K. can defend and reaffirm their long-standing shared democratic values to create security and prosperity for themselves and the world.
The official added that the king will say that the story of the two countries over the last 250 years is one of “reconciliation and renewal” and “of one of the greatest alliances in human history.”
The official said lawmakers can expect Charles to reference the Australia-U.K.-U.S. alliance, the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and NATO, a frequent target of Trump’s criticism.
Charles will also discuss how the U.S. and U.K. have stood together through a shared history and how “our defense, intelligence and security ties are measured not in years but in decades.”
The king will refer to the importance of trade and technology deals between the U.S. and U.K. and will emphasize the importance of protecting “nature’s own economy.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nbcnews.com ’
