Mission accomplished as king’s speech to Congress goes down a storm

Charles quoted Wilde and Dickens in measured masterclass – and no tirade as yet from mad monarch in White House A flick of Oscar Wilde here, a nod to Henry Kissinger there, a sprinkling of Charles Dickens here, a dollop of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt there. Job done! The British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over Donald Trump’s head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat and the special relationship lives to fight another day. Continue reading...

David Smith in Washington · Tue, Apr 28, 2026, 1:57 PM
US news | The Guardian

Mission accomplished as king’s speech to Congress goes down a storm

Charles quoted Wilde and Dickens in measured masterclass – and no tirade as yet from mad monarch in White House

A flick of Oscar Wilde here, a nod to Henry Kissinger there, a sprinkling of Charles Dickens here, a dollop of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt there. Job done!

The British monarch mobilised an elite squad of dead white men, leavened with humour and subliminal politicking, on Tuesday in a charm offensive aimed over Donald Trump’s head and squarely at the US Congress. Judging by the cheers and minute-long applause he received at the end, the soft power flex worked a treat and the special relationship lives to fight another day.

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