By Terence P. Jeffrey
April 10, 2026
On March 31, the British Royal Family announced that Queen Elizabeth II’s son and heir, King Charles III, will visit the United States at the end of April.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to the king on April 1, inviting him to address a joint session of Congress. The letter stated: “The relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom has evolved into one of the most consequential partnerships in modern history… [and] …a shared ‘spirit of democracy,’ and a commitment to the fundamental values of individual freedom, consent of the governed, and rule of law.”
King Charles accepted the invitation.
This visit coincides with the 250th anniversary of American Independence. The monarch will celebrate historic connections between the two nations.
In 1946, Winston Churchill delivered a speech at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, warning of an “iron curtain” descending across Europe after World War II. He described Soviet expansion as a threat to Western democracy and peace.
Forty-three years later, Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to address the U.S. Congress in 1991. She stated: “The swift and dramatic changes in Eastern Europe have opened up great opportunities for people in those countries. They are finding their paths to freedom. But these paths would have been blocked if the Atlantic Alliance had not stood together — if your country and mine had not stood together.”
