0:00 Mr.
0:00 Vice President, Mr.
0:02 Speaker, members of Congress, uh representatives of the American people across all states, territories,
0:12 cities, and communities.
0:15 I would like, if I may to take this opportunity to express my particular
0:20 gratitude to all for the great honor of addressing this joint uh meeting of
0:27 Congress.
0:27 And on behalf of the Queen and myself,
0:30 to thank the American people for welcoming welcoming us
0:34 as to the United States to mark this semi-quincentennial year uh of the Declaration
0:41 of Independence.
0:43 And for all of that time, >> >> aren't you lucky?
1:13 >> >> And um for all of that time, our destinies as nations have been interlinked.
1:19 As uh Oscar Wilde said,
1:22 "We have really everything in common uh with America nowadays, except of course language."
1:35 So, it is natural we meet in times of great uncertainty,
1:38 in times of conflict from Europe to the Middle East,
1:43 which pose immense challenges for the international community,
1:48 and whose impact is felt in communities the length
1:52 and breadth of our own countries.
1:55 We meet, too, uh in the aftermath of the incident not far from this
2:00 great building that sought to harm the leadership of your nation
2:05 and to ferment wider fear
2:07 and discord.
2:10 Let me say with unshakeable resolve such acts of violence will never succeed.
2:39 >> >> Whatever our differences whatever disagreements we may have we stand united in
2:46 our commitment to uphold democracy to protect all our people from harm
2:53 and to salute the courage of those who daily risk their lives in the
2:58 service of our countries.
3:01 Standing here today it is hard not to feel the weight of history on
3:06 my shoulder because the modern relationship between our two nations
3:12 and our own peoples spans not merely 250 years
3:17 but over four centuries.
3:20 It is extraordinary to think
3:22 that I am the 19th in our line of sovereigns to study with daily
3:28 attention the affairs of America.
3:31 So I come here today with the highest respect for the United States Congress
3:39 this citadel of democracy created to represent the voice of all American people to
3:45 advance sacred rights and freedoms.
3:49 Speaking in this renowned chamber of debate and deliberation,
3:55 I cannot help but think of my late mother, Queen Elizabeth,
3:58 who in 1991 was also afforded this signal honor
4:04 and similarly spoke under the watchful eye of the Statue of Freedom above us.
4:12 Today, I am here on this great occasion in the life of our nations
4:18 to express the highest regard
4:20 and friendship of the British people to the people of the United States.
4:27 Now, as you may know, when I address my own Parliament at Westminster,
4:32 we still follow an age-old tradition and take a member of Parliament hostage.
4:41 Holding him or her at Buckingham Palace until I am safely returned.
4:49 These days, we we look after our guests rather well to the point
4:54 that they often do not want to leave.
5:00 I don't know, Mr.
5:01 Speaker, if there are were any volunteers for that role here today.
5:10 As I look back across the centuries, Mr.
5:13 Speaker, there emerge certain patterns,
5:16 certain self-evident truths from which we can learn and draw mutual strength.
5:22 With the spirit of 1776 in our minds,
5:26 we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree,
5:31 at least in the first instance.
5:33 Indeed, the the very principle on which your Congress was founded,
5:38 no taxation without representation,
5:41 was at once a fundamental disagreement between us
5:45 and at the same time a shared democratic value uh >> >>
5:49 which you inherited from us.
5:52 Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it.
5:58 So, um perhaps in this example,
6:01 uh we can discern that our nations are in fact instinctively like-minded,
6:07 a product of the common democratic, legal,
6:11 and social traditions in which our governance is rooted uh to this day.
6:18 Drawing on these values and traditions time and again,
6:21 our two countries have always found ways to come together.
6:26 And by Jove, Mr.
6:27 Speaker, when we have found that way to agree,
6:30 what great change is brought about?
6:33 Not just for the benefit of our peoples, but of all peoples.
6:39 This, I believe, is the um special ingredient in our relationship.
6:45 As President Trump himself observed during his state visit to Britain last autumn,
6:50 the bond of kinship
6:51 and identity between America
6:53 and the United Kingdom is priceless
6:55 and eternal.
6:57 It is irreplaceable and unbreakable.
7:26 >> >> Mr.
7:26 Speaker, this is um by no means my first visit to Washington, D.C.,
7:31 the capital of this great republic.
7:34 It is in fact my 20th visit to the United States,
7:38 and my first as King and head of the Commonwealth.
7:42 This is a city
7:43 which symbolizes a period in our shared history
7:47 or what Charles Dickens might have called a tale of two Georges.
8:04 >> >> The first president, George Washington, and my five times great grandfather, King George III.
8:10 King George, as you know, never set foot in America.
8:16 And please rest assured, ladies and gentlemen,
8:18 I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action.
8:30 The founding fathers were bold
8:32 and imaginative rebels with a cause. >> >> 200 >> >> 250 years ago,
8:44 or as we say in the United Kingdom, just the other day,
8:56 >> >> they declared independence.
8:59 By balancing contending forces and drawing strength in their diversity,
9:04 they united 13 disparate colonies to forge a nation on the revolutionary idea of
9:12 life,
9:12 liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
9:16 They carried with them
9:18 and carried forward the great inheritance of the British Enlightenment
9:23 as well as the ideals
9:25 which had an even deeper history in English common law
9:29 and Magna Carta.
9:40 >> >> These roots run deep and they are still vital.
9:45 Our Declaration of Rights of 1689 was not only the foundation of our constitutional
9:51 monarchy,
9:52 but also provided the source of so many of the principles reiterated, often verbatim,
9:59 in the American Bill of Rights of 1791.
10:04 And those roots go even further back in history.
10:08 The US Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated
10:12 that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases in 1789,
10:22 not least as the foundation of the principle
10:25 that executive power is subject to checks
10:28 and balances.
10:58 >> >> This is the reason why the Stanza Stone by the River Thames at Runnymede,
11:05 where Magna Carta was signed in the year 1215,
11:09 this stone records that an acre of
11:11 that ancient and historic site was given to the United States of America by
11:16 the people of the United Kingdom to symbolize our shared resolve in support of
11:22 liberty and in memory of President John F.
11:28 Kennedy.
11:28 Distinguished members of the 119th Congress,
11:31 it is here in these very halls
11:35 that this spirit of liberty
11:37 and the promise of America's founders is present in every session
11:42 and every vote cast.
11:44 Not by the will of one,
11:46 but by the deliberation of many representing the living mosaic of the United States.
11:54 In both of our countries,
11:57 it is the very fact of our vibrant diverse
12:00 and free societies that gives us our collective strength,
12:07 including to support victims of some of the ills
12:10 that so tragically exist in both our societies today.
12:16 And Mr.
12:16 Speaker, for many here and for myself,
12:22 uh the Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us,
12:28 not only personally, >> >> the guides us not only personally,
12:49 but together as members of our community.
12:52 Having devoted a large part of my life to interfaith relationships
13:03 and >> >> and greater understanding,
13:05 it is that faith in the triumph of light over darkness,
13:09 which I have found confirmed countless times.
13:13 Through it, I am inspired by the profound respect
13:17 that develops as people of different faiths grow in their understanding of each other.
13:31 >> >> It is why, which is my hope, my prayer, that in these turbulent times,
13:38 working together and with our international partners,
13:43 we can stem the beating of plowshares into swords.
13:56 I >> >> I am mindful that we are still in the season of Easter.
14:01 The season that most strengthens my hope.
14:05 It is why I believe with all my heart
14:07 that the essence of our two nations is a generosity of spirit
14:12 and a duty to foster compassion,
14:14 to promote peace, to deepen mutual understanding,
14:18 and to value all people of all faiths and of none.
14:43 >> >> The alliance
14:45 that our two nations have built over the centuries
14:49 and for which we are profoundly grateful to the American people is truly unique.
14:55 And that alliance is part of what Henry Kissinger described
14:59 as Kennedy's soaring vision of an Atlantic partnership based on twin pillars,
15:07 Europe and America.
15:09 That partnership, I believe, Mr.
15:12 Speaker, is more important today than it has ever been.
15:25 >> >> The first reigning British sovereign to set foot in America was my
15:30 grandfather King George VI.
15:33 He visited in 1939 with my beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.
15:42 The forces of fascism in Europe were on the march
15:46 and sometime before the United States had joined us in the defense of freedom.
15:51 Our shared values prevailed.
15:56 Today we find ourselves in a new era but those values remain.
16:03 It is an era
16:04 that is in many ways more volatile
16:07 and more dangerous than the world to
16:09 which my late mother spoke in this chamber in 1991.
16:16 The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone.
16:22 But in this unpredictable environment our alliance cannot rest on past achievements
16:29 or assume >> >>
16:31 that foundational principles simply endure.
16:35 As my Prime Minister said last month ours is an indispensable partnership.
16:42 We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years.
16:48 Instead, we must build on it.
17:03 Renewal >> >> Renewal today starts with security.
17:06 The United Kingdom recognizes
17:09 that the threats we face demand a transformation in British defense.
17:15 That is why our country, in order to be fit for the future,
17:18 has committed to the biggest sustained increase in defense spending since the Cold War.
17:25 During part of which, over 50 years ago,
17:28 I served with immense pride in the Royal Navy,
17:31 following the naval footsteps of my father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, my grandfather,
17:36 King George VI, my great uncle, Lord Mountbatten, and my great grandfather,
17:41 King George V.
17:43 This year, of course, also marks the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
17:50 This atrocity was a defining moment for America,
17:56 and your pain and shock were felt around the whole world.
18:01 During my visit to New York,
18:04 uh my wife and I will again pay our respects to the victims,
18:08 the families, and the bravery shown in the face of terrible loss.
18:14 We stood with you then,
18:17 and we stand with you now in solemn remembrance of a day
18:21 that shall never be forgotten.
18:47 >> >> In the immediate aftermath of 9/11,
18:50 when NATO invoked Article 5 for the first time,
18:55 and the United Nations Security Council was united in the face of terror,
19:00 we answered the call together,
19:03 as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder,
19:08 through two World Wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan,
19:12 and moments that have defined our shared security.
19:16 Today, Mr.
19:17 Speaker, that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine
19:24 and her most courageous people.
19:47 >> >> It is needed in order to secure a truly just and lasting peace.
19:54 From the depths of the Atlantic to the disastrously melting ice caps of the
20:02 Arctic,
20:02 the commitment and expertise of the United States Armed Forces
20:06 and its allies lie at the heart of NATO.
20:10 Pledged to each other's defense, protecting our citizens and interests,
20:15 keeping North Americans and Europeans safe from our common adversaries.
20:21 Our defense, intelligence, and security ties are hardwired together through relationships measured not in
20:29 years,
20:30 but in decades.
20:33 Today, thousands of US service personnel, defense officials,
20:38 and their families are stationed in the United Kingdom
20:43 as British personnel serve with equal pride across 30 American states.
20:49 We are building F-35s together,
20:53 and we have agreed the most ambitious submarine program in history, AUKUS.
21:19 >> >> Mhm.
21:19 >> And we are doing it in partnership with Australia.
21:23 A country of which I'm also immensely proud to serve as sovereign.
21:29 We do not embark on these remarkable endeavors together out of sentiment.
21:35 We do so because they build greater shared resilience for the future,
21:42 so making our citizens safer for generations to come.
21:47 Our common ideals were not only crucial for liberty and equality,
21:52 they are also the foundation of our shared prosperity.
21:57 The rule of law, the certainty of stable and accessible rules,
22:03 an independent judiciary resolving disputes and delivering impartial justice.
22:10 These features created the conditions for centuries of unmatched economic growth in our two
22:18 countries.
22:20 This is why our governments are concluding a new economic concluding new economic
22:26 and technology agreements to write the next chapter of our joint prosperity
22:34 and ensure that British
22:36 and American ingenuity continues to lead the world.
22:42 Our nations are combining talent and resources in the technologies of tomorrow.
22:49 Our new partnerships in nuclear fusion
22:51 and quantum computing and in AI
22:55 and drug discovery holding the promise of saving countless lives.
23:02 More broadly, we celebrate the 430 billion dollars in annual trade
23:09 that continues to grow.
23:11 The 1.7 trillion dollars in mutual investment that fuels that innovation.
23:17 And the millions of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic supported across both
23:26 economies.
23:26 These are strong foundations on which to continue to build for generations yet unborn.
23:35 Our ties in education, research,
23:37 and cultural exchange empower citizens and future leaders of both countries.
23:45 The Marshall Scholarship, named after the great General George Marshall,
23:50 and the association of which I'm so proud to be patron,
23:54 are emblematic of the connection between our two countries.
24:00 Since its founding, more than 2,300 scholarships have been awarded,
24:05 opening doors for Americans from all walks of life to study at the United
24:11 Kingdom's leading universities.
24:15 So, as we look toward the next 250 years,
24:19 we must also reflect on our shared responsibility to safeguard nature,
24:25 our most precious and irreplaceable asset.
24:49 >> >> Millennia millennia before our nations existed, before any border drawn,
24:54 the mountains of Scotland and Appalachia were one,
24:58 a single continuous range forged in the ancient collision of continents.
25:05 The natural wonders of the United States of America are indeed a unique asset,
25:12 and generations of Americans have risen to this calling.
25:16 Indigenous, political, and civic leaders, people in rural communities and cities alike,
25:24 have all helped to protect
25:25 and nurture what President Theodore Roosevelt called the glorious heritage of this land's extraordinary
25:33 natural splendor,
25:35 on which so much of its prosperity has always depended.
25:41 Yet, even as we celebrate the beauty that surrounds us,
25:47 our generation must decide how to address the collapse of critical natural systems,
25:54 which threatens far more than the harmony and essential diversity of nature.
26:00 We ignore at our peril the fact that these natural systems, in other words,
26:05 nature's own economy, provide the foundation for our prosperity and our national security.
26:36 >> >> The story of the United Kingdom and the United States is, at its heart,
26:41 a story of reconciliation, renewal, and remarkable partnership.
26:49 From the bitter divisions of 250 years ago,
26:52 we forged a friendship
26:54 that has grown into one of the most consequential alliances in human history.
27:00 I pray with all my heart
27:03 that our alliance will continue to defend our shared values with our partners in
27:09 Europe and the Commonwealth
27:11 and across the world.
27:21 And >> >> and that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.
27:26 Mr.
27:26 Speaker, Mr.
27:27 Vice President, distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
27:32 America's words carry weight and meaning as they have since independence.
27:40 The actions of this great nation matter even more.
27:45 President Lincoln understood this
27:47 so well with his reflection in the magisterial Gettysburg Address
27:54 that the world may little note what we say
27:57 but will never forget what we do.
28:01 And so to the United States of America, on your 250th birthday,
28:07 let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless service of
28:16 our peoples and of all the peoples of the world.
28:21 God bless the United States and God bless the United Kingdom.
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