The King’s Speech

The Congress and the Nation Get A Master Class in Civility

Thanks to my grandmother, His Majesty Charles III has been a player in my world as far back as I can remember. Charles and I were born the same year. (I’m ten months older than the Monarch.) Born in London, my grandmother lost her father to a heart attack as a young girl. An only child, her mother booked passage for the two of them to cross the Atlantic to start a new life in Canada when she was just eight years old. Her father worked on horse-drawn carriages in London, including, Grandmother told us, the King’s carriage.

He served King Edward. Then came King George IV, followed by George V, Elizabeth’s father. Grandma Dorothy loved the Royal family, and celebrated in 1952 when young Elizabeth was crowned Queen. Elizabeth was just twenty-seven, and mother to two young children: Charles (4) and Anne (2). Dorothy’s first grandson (me) was also four years old. She married a Charles (my Grandpa Charlie) and gave the same name to her firstborn son (my Uncle Chuck).

So the drama of the Monarchy in the United Kingdom has always captured my attention, some of it embarrassing, disturbing. Charles, always rather awkward, made headlines - and we all wondered how Diana could have been attracted to him - but there they were - the wedding of the century, capturing the world’s attention.

And then tragedy.

Along with all the Brits, we wondered when and how the crown would be passed to Charles. We even wondered if the Monarchy would survive. The Queen dubbed 1992 her “Annus Horribilis” - horrible year. Scandals. Divorce. The Windsor Castle fire. And then, in 1997, Diana died in that car crash in Paris.¹

Would Charles ever be King? Could Camilla be Queen?

We tracked it all.

My expectations of King Charles’ visit to the United States were quite low. Knowing that our President is the Master of Distraction, I considered it one more way to redirect national (global) attention away from the intractable war in Iran. And then, on Saturday night, the White House Correspondence Dinner erupted into one more assassination story - that formal dinner descending into utter chaos and round-the-clock news coverage.

Less than two days later, the King and Queen arrived at the White House for a State Visit, with all the pomp and circumstance Washington could muster. On Tuesday, the King would address a joint session of Congress.

I’ve often heard Charles speak. To describe him as riveting would be a gross overstatement. But all that changed in the packed Chamber of Congress as the nation (the world) tuned in.

It was his finest hour. Churchillian, even.

To begin, as the King and Queen entered the historic room, you could feel the excitement. The entire Chamber welcomed the Royals, both sides of the aisle, the balcony, too, with an enthusiastic standing ovation.

Impeccably dressed in his tailored grey pinstripe suit, the King took his place at the podium with the Vice President and Speaker of the House seated behind him. The Queen took her place on the stage.

I had my questions. Would this be another predictable, boring recitation of politically neutral comments coming from the middle of the road, sure to offend no one?

It was neither boring nor middle of the road.

Later, at the formal State Dinner, Trump joked that he could not believe that the King managed to get the Democrats to stand and applaud, something he had never been able to do. When I heard that, I thought the opposite. The King got the Republicans on their feet - along with the Democrats - every time. That’s a much greater mystery.

Praise for the beautifully crafted speech is virtually universal. I believe that a primary reason is that we were exposed to the use of language, rich vocabulary, grammar, humor, history, literature, and persuasion that we expect from one who speaks from the podium of the House Chamber, but we rarely witness. There was no need to fact-check anything. My grandmother would speak of “The King’s English.” I knew what she meant. And this was definitely the King’s English.

For the last ten years, we’ve heard speeches from that podium that don’t even come close to His Majesty’s performance on Tuesday. Think of those State of the Union Addresses delivered by this President. Then those Inaugural Addresses - two of them. They were right in there with Trump’s rally speeches, stream of consciousness, word salads, filled with vitriol, name-calling, unashamed bigotry, predictable repetition, unprofessional profanity, wild exaggerations, mean-spirited accusations, blaming, shaming, and well, you know exactly what I mean. In his second term, the fact-checkers have given up. It has become a fool’s errand. We just all agree that “it’s just him,” accepting the fact that little that Trump says has merit, and we just shrug and move on.

But from the Republican side of the aisle, wild applause when he speaks. Go figure.

So, for all these years, those congressional ovations have come from either one side or the other. The Republicans stand and clap and shout their approval, looking across the aisle with disdain at their seated, silent opponents. When Biden spoke, the Democrats stood, Republicans sat. Where civility was once a hallmark, the unvarnished contempt in the room is palpable. That’s how it’s been.

But not this night.

King Charles managed to deliver a searing critique of this administration while simultaneously receiving enthusiastic applause from both sides of the aisle. How did he do it?

The King’s English.

With classic British reserve, he relied on language; the power of persuasion. Showing affection and respect for his audience with self-deprecating humor, he invoked Charles Dickens. He suggested that Dickens might call the break between America and Britain “The Tale of Two Georges” - King George III and George Washington. Charles referenced history and literature: Shakespeare, Dickens, and Oscar Wilde, who wrote -

“We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.”

Yes, we Americans speak English, but not like the King.

I was so surprised and impressed by Charles’ not-so-subtle critique that I listened to the speech twice. I had to be sure I got it right. And I do believe I did.

Both J.D. Vance and Mike Johnson lit up like Christmas trees when the King referenced Christianity as his ethical inheritance - how it shaped his view of science, service, and public duty. Just behind him, the two Christian Nationalist champions jumped to their feet in wild excitement over their religion getting honorable mention right there in the Chamber from THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN!²

But then, after the rousing applause subsided, Charles pivoted. He spoke of his commitment to interfaith dialogue; the religious diversity cherished in a healthy democracy. The rights of its citizens to believe as they choose. The necessity of mutual respect that is the essence of the democratic ideal. Without using the phrase, the King championed Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. The Vice President and the Speaker applauded again - this time in a tepid, obligatory manner, without that smirky smile and nod to one another.

So much for Christian Nationalism.

There were other clear statements of divergence from the Trump agenda. Charles underscored the importance of the NATO Alliance, which Trump regularly condemns. He also spoke eloquently about the threat of climate change, the fragility of our planet, and the duty and obligation to care for the Earth. He identified the “systems of nature” that have been disrupted, “to our peril.” Trump, as we all know, considers the whole conversation a “hoax.”

But the entire Congress stood and cheered anyway.

My favorite dig came out of his reference to the 1215 Magna Carta, which both of our nations cite as the source of our democracies. A key element of that document states clearly, “the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.” Whoa!

That key provision was included in the Magna Carta because the nation found itself in revolt against King John for his “capricious and tyrannical” actions. Even the King would be henceforth subject to the Rule of Law.

So I was shocked - on both my first and second viewing of the speech. Both Democrats and Republicans stood to their feet and applauded when the King declared, “Executive power is subject to checks and balances.” (Italics mine)

Do I believe that this speech will change anything? I had hopes.

But after the pomp and circumstance of the Royal visit - the welcome on the White House lawn, the speech to Congress, the State Dinner, the visit to the 9-11 Memorial in New York, the President returned to that all-too-familiar Trumpspeak: blaming Democrats for the assassin’s charge on the White House Correspondence Dinner. Selling his ballroom and his Arch de Trump. Speaking at Crypto conventions, enriching himself. Claiming victory (when there is none). Denying inflation. Punishing his critics. Covering up crimes.

The King’s English, now yesterday’s news.

But in this writing, I intend to remember that one brief, shining moment when we all stood together, forgetting the aisle that separates us, celebrating the possibilities of a vibrant democracy on this, our 250th Birthday - with liberty and justice, for all.

Thank you, King Charles, for a Master Class in Civility.

1. Carolyn and I were in London on a business trip, August of 1997, by complete coincidence, the week after Diana died. We witnessed the drama that led to her Memorial Service in Westminster Abbey, where Elton John sang “Candle in the Wind.”

2. King Charles, by the way, as Sovereign, is head of the Church of England.