A speech from a British monarch returns to Capitol Hill as US-UK tensions simmer

WASHINGTON — King Charles III will deliver an address to Congress during his visit to Washington in late April, becoming the first British monarch to give a speech to a joint meeting of U.S. lawmakers in more than three decades. The joint address was announced on Wednesday by congressional leaders, who said it was part of the 250th anniversary of the U.S. declaring independence from Britain. The speech also comes at a time of friction between the two nations, which have since become close allies. President Donald Trump's "America First" foreign policy has called into question the U.S. commitment to European allies, and Britain has declined to support the U.S. involvement in the war in Iran. Still, congressional leaders emphasized the close relationship between the U.S. and Britain. "The American experiment endures in no small part because of the British tradition from which it sprang," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in a letter addressed to Charles. "We believe an Address to Congress will provide a unique opportunity to share your vision for the future of our special relationship and reaffirm our alliance at this pivotal time in history." In Britain, some members of Parliament have called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to cancel the state visit by Charles in retaliation for Trump lashing out at them for declining to support the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. Starmer decided to proceed with the state visit, which could potentially ease the tensions caused by the war. The pomp and circumstance of state visits by the British monarch have been used for years to bolster relations with countries around the world. Queen Elizabeth II was the last British monarch to deliver a joint address to Congress, in 1991. But some lawmakers also want to use the occasion to press forward their investigation into sexual abuse by New York financier Jeffrey Epstein. Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna wrote to Charles to request a meeting between him and survivors of abuse from Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell. "I respectfully ask that you privately meet with survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's and Ghislaine Maxwell's abuse, so they may speak to you directly about the ways powerful individuals and institutions failed them. Survivors want this meeting," Khanna said in the letter. In Britain, there has been intense scrutiny of Epstein's ties to powerful figures in the British government. Last year, Charles stripped the former Prince Andrew, his brother, of his royal titles and evicted him from his royal residence after weeks of pressure to act over his relationship with Epstein. Some U.S. lawmakers have bemoaned the fact that the reckoning over Epstein has extended further in Britain and other parts of Europe than it has in the U.S. Epstein died in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking but has sought to be freed from her 20-year prison sentence, saying new evidence proves constitutional violations spoiled her trial. The former Prince Andrew, now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has repeatedly denied committing any crimes.