Five things we learned from King Charles III's Washington banquet speech

Primarily, the banquet was to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US and of the special relationship between the two nations.

However, the King’s trip across the pond was also a chance to reset relations between the UK and US, which has turned frosty since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.

The king won some standing ovations and applause for his jokes, but he also pushed the US president on difficult topics such as Nato, climate change and ongoing wars across the world.

So what did we learn from the king’s banquet speech?

1 - The enduring force of Nato

The King was keen to remind the US of the importance of the Nato alliance, particularly as this has become strained under the Trump administration.

He said: “In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, when Nato invoked article five for the first time, and the UN Security Council was united in the face of terror, we answered the call together - as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder-to-shoulder, through to world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan, and moments that have defined our shared security.

“Today, that same, unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people. It is needed in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace.”

He said the “commitment and expertise” of the US Armed Forces “lie at the heart of Nato”, and will help keep North Americans and Europeans safe from “our common adversaries”.

The King added: “Our defence, intelligence and security ties are hardwired together through relationships measured not in years, but in decades.”

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2 - Cracking some jokes

The King made some gentle digs during his speech, which seemed to land well with the Democrats in the room.

He said that executive power “subject to checks and balances” was a British legal tradition enshrined in the Magna Carta, which informed the US Constitution. This earned the King a standing ovation from the Democratic side of the chamber, although it did spread across the entire room.

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The King also joked about how a member of the British parliament is held “hostage” when the King speaks at Westminster and wondered if anyone in Congress had volunteered to the job, and riffed on how US independence was “just another day” for a nation as old as the UK, laughing that his visit was not a “cunning rearguard action” to re-establish British rule in the US.

He also pointed to the “readjustments to the East Wing” of the White House, and said “I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real estate development of the White House in 1814”, referring to British forces setting the White House on fire.

The King then said: “Indeed, you recently commented Mr President, that if it were not for the US, European countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!”

He closed his speech by saying the “splendid dinner” was a “significant improvement from the Boston Tea Party”.

3 - Uncertain times

Acknowledging the strain in the relationship against a backdrop of geopolitical tensions was key to King Charles III’s speech.

He began his speech by saying we are in “times of great uncertainty” in both the UK and the US.

He broached the ongoing conflicts in both the Middle East and Europe, and noted threats to democracy and increasing political violence like the shooting at the White House correspondents’ dinner at the weekend.

The King said: “With the spirit of 1776 in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree.”

As he closed his speech, he said: “America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since independence. The actions of this great nation matter even more.”

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4 - Does the King agree?

President Trump made a brief reference to the conflict in the Middle East, saying the US is “doing very war” in Iran.

He said: “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent.

“We are never going to let that opponent ever - Charles agrees with me, even more than I do - we’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon.”

President Trump said the US and UK have historically stood together “defiant and triumphant against the forces of communism, fascism and tyranny”.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said: “The King is naturally mindful of his government’s longstanding and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”

5 - The elephant in the room

There was one glaring topic that did not get a mention - the Epstein files.

The closest the King came to acknowledging this was when he said there was a need to “support victims of some of the ills that so tragically exist in both our societies today”.

Some had called for the King to meet with Epstein survivors during his trip to the US.

This comes as the US Congress passed legislation to release the Epstein files last year, despite objections from the Trump administration.

The files included details about Epstein’s relationships with former US ambassador Peter Mandelson and the King’s own brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.