King Charles offered a rare personal touch while welcoming President Donald Trump and his family to a lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle. The 76-year-old monarch used the moment to reflect on the long and sometimes complicated relationship between the U.S. and the U.K., telling guests that the two nations now share a bond that neither side could have imagined centuries ago.
He joked about the sharp words once exchanged between President George Washington and his ancestor King George III, saying, “I cannot help but wonder what our forebears from 1776 would make of this friendship today.” The King added, “Today, however, we celebrate a relationship between our two countries that surely neither Washington nor King George III could possibly have imagined.”
Also Read: Trump’s UK Visit Turns Chaotic as Protesters Project Epstein Images on Windsor Castle
Charles lightened the mood even more with a personal story from his younger days. He recalled his first official visit to the United States, when he met President Richard Nixon and was escorted by Nixon’s daughter Tricia. The media at the time speculated endlessly about a possible royal romance. “Had the media succeeded in the 1970s in their own attempt at deepening the special relationship, I myself might have been married off within the Nixon family,” he joked, getting laughs from the crowd.
The King also made a playful nod to Trump’s well-known love of golf, saying, “I understand that British soil makes for rather splendid golf courses,” reported the Independent.
The evening was meant to highlight the close ties between the two countries, despite a history that began with conflict. Charles’ mix of humor, personal memories, and gentle acknowledgment of the past made the formal dinner feel more like a conversation among old friends than a stiff diplomatic event.
Read More: Trump’s Right Hand Raises more Questions than his Speech about the National Guard
The banquet gave the King an opportunity to honor the American president while also underlining the strength of a relationship that has developed over hundreds of years. For many in attendance, his words about Washington and George III carried extra weight, coming from a monarch whose own family history is tied to the origins of the United States.
The gathering at Windsor Castle was filled with the pageantry expected of a royal event, but the King’s ability to poke fun at himself while pointing to history added a warmer, human note. By recalling moments from his own life, from Nixon’s White House to his awareness of Trump’s golf empire, he made the idea of the “special relationship” feel less like a political phrase and more like a genuine connection.
It was a night where tradition met humor, where the weight of history stood alongside golf jokes, and where King Charles reminded everyone in the room that even centuries after 1776, the story of the U.K. and the U.S. is still being written.