King Charles to address Congress in first British royal visit since 1991

King Charles III arrived in Washington on Monday for a four-day visit to the United States, where he will become the first British monarch to address Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991.

The trip, timed to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence from Britain, is aimed at reinforcing the trans-Atlantic alliance at a moment of mounting diplomatic strain — including Trump administration tariffs on U.K. goods and a public rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Charles and Queen Camilla arrived at the White House on Monday for tea with Trump and First Lady Melania Trump. The king is scheduled to address a joint session of Congress and attend a state banquet hosted by Trump on Tuesday, according to ABC7 Los Angeles. The visit will also include stops in New York City and Virginia.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he attended a garden party with Charles in Washington on Monday and told the king he would be "well received" before Congress, ABC7 Los Angeles reported.

Democrats framed the royal visit in pointed terms. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said Monday, "Hopefully, the king's visit is going to go a long way toward repairing the damage that this administration has done to one of our most important allies in the world."

Relations between Washington and London have deteriorated in recent months. Trump publicly dismissed Prime Minister Starmer's leadership, saying "this is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with," and threatened last week to impose a "big tariff" on the U.K. unless it scraps its digital services tax targeting U.S. technology companies, according to ABC7 Los Angeles.

The congressional address is a rare distinction typically accorded to figures such as Pope Francis, Václav Havel and Winston Churchill. Johnson himself became the first sitting House speaker to address the U.K. Parliament earlier this year, ABC7 Los Angeles noted.

The visit comes as the British royal family also confronts a domestic crisis: Prince Andrew was arrested in February over misconduct allegations tied to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, which he denies.