Smiles and wonder: How the US reacted to King Charles

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Smiles and wonder: How the US reacted to King Charles 8 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on Google Bernd Debusmann Jr White House reporter The King and Queen in the Big Apple: What the royals did on their third day in the US The United States declared independence from the British crown 250 years ago - but this week, it could not get enough of it. From the minute King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped onto the White House South Lawn, US networks dumped their standard diet of political warfare and breaking news for something rare: pure pageantry. In a country that seems to agree on almost nothing, the British royals managed something close to a clean sweep - drawing warm receptions from both sides of a political spectrum where neutral ground is rare.

The visit came at a fraught time in US-British relations, with the White House and Downing Street at odds over the war in Iran, straining a relationship both governments insist remains unshakeable. The reviews following the King's appearances at the White House, in Congress and in New York were warm across the political divide. A commentator in the conservative Washington Examiner wrote that the UK needed more than conventional diplomacy - and that King Charles delivered.

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PA King Charles and Queen Camilla spent time at the 9/11 Memorial in New York "His Majesty's Government under scandal-plagued Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer needed the monarchy to do what only the king could do," the editorial said. The King's comments in Congress and at the White House's lavish banquet on Tuesday - mixing humour with history and a call for unity - also were widely praised. Some saw them as a subtle rebuke of President Trump.

"Sometimes it takes an outside perspective to see what's really going on," an opinion writer wrote in the Arizona Republic. "It's striking to have a king remind us of what democracy is all about. " For months, Donald Trump - a committed Anglophile and avid fan of the Royals - repeatedly told reporters that he was excited for the King's visit.

That excitement was on full display throughout the King's visit to Washington, in which the world saw a warmer version of a president not shy to make his feelings known. King Charles, Charlotte Tilbury and Martha Stewart together at the King's Trust Global Gala at Rockefeller Center Uncharacteristically, Trump largely stuck to a script, making no mention of policy disagreements with Downing Street and lauding the long ties between the US and Britain. "Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rare gifts of moral courage," he said.

"And it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea. " On Capitol Hill, where the King became only the second British monarch to address a joint session of Congress, Charles received a standing ovation - though some in the room heard something more pointed in his words. "As opposed to Keir Starmer, who is looked at...

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.