President Donald Trump on Tuesday officially welcomed King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the White House, praising the long-standing bond between the United States and the United Kingdom and calling it "the most cherished friendship."
"Your Majesties, members of the British delegation, friends, service members, and distinguished guests, welcome to the beautiful White House. Great honor to have you," Trump said from the South Lawn during an official ceremony airing live on Newsmax and Newsmax2.
Trump reflected on his and first lady Melania Trump's visit to Windsor Castle last year, calling it a "spectacular honor," and said it was now a "tremendous privilege" to host the British monarch and queen consort during their visit to Washington.
The president used the occasion to highlight the deep historical ties between the two nations, noting that while the United States fought for independence from Britain, its founding was shaped by British heritage and values.
"Long before Americans had a nation or a constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed," President Trump said. "The American founding was the culmination of hundreds of years of thought, struggle, sweat, blood, and sacrifice on both sides of the Atlantic."
Trump pointed to shared traditions of liberty and governance, tracing a line from the Magna Carta to America's founding.
"Fate drew a long arc from the meadow at Runnymede to the streets of Philadelphia," he said, referencing the 1215 signing of the Magna Carta. "The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance."
He added that early Americans carried forward "the ancient English love of liberty and Great Britain's distinctive sense of glory, destiny, and pride."
"In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British," President Trump said. "We share those same roots. We speak the same language."
"We hold the same values, and together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under the twin banners of red, white, and blue," he added.
The president also paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, recalling her visit to the White House and a tree she planted on the grounds, which he said symbolized the enduring relationship between the two nations.
"Like our nation itself, it was laid with British hands but grew in American soil," President Trump said of the tree. "Today it stands tall and proud, reaching ever higher."
He also shared a personal note about his Scottish-born mother, Mary MacLeod Trump, saying she admired the royal family and often watched royal ceremonies.
"Anytime the queen was involved in a ceremony or anything, my mother would be glued to the television," President Trump said, joking that she once remarked, "Look, young Charles, he's so cute."
The ceremony comes ahead of King Charles' scheduled address to a joint session of Congress later Tuesday, making him the first British monarch to do so.
President Trump said he would be watching the speech, describing it as a historic moment.
"In a few hours, His Majesty will stand in the heart of the United States Capitol as the very first British king ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress," he said.
The president noted the significance of the moment, given the countries' past conflicts, and emphasized how former adversaries became close allies.
"The soldiers who once called each other redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the GIs, who together saved the free world as brothers in arms," he said.
President Trump closed by reaffirming the strength of the U.S.-U.K. alliance and its role in promoting freedom globally.
"Together, let us go forward with even stronger resolve to carry on our sacred devotion to liberty," he said. "May God forever bless the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and may God bless the United States of America."
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