King Charles III of Britain will acknowledge on Tuesday that his country has had its differences with the United States, but he plans to tell a joint session of Congress that the \u201ctwo countries have always found ways to come together,\u201d according to a preview of his remarks by Buckingham Palace.<\/p>\n
The king\u2019s speech is a centerpiece of his first visit to the former colonies as Britain\u2019s monarch. It comes at a fraught time for the relationship between the two governments<\/a>, with President Trump mocking Prime Minister Keir Starmer for refusing to join the war in Iran.<\/p>\n But in his speech, the king plans to say that the story of the two countries over the past 250 years has been marked by \u201creconciliation and renewal,\u201d and has produced what he will call \u201cone of the greatest alliances in human history.\u201d<\/p>\n The king and Queen Camilla began planning for their American trip months before the tensions emerged between Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer. And British officials and representatives of Buckingham Palace have repeatedly said the king does not get involved in day-to-day politics or foreign policy.<\/p>\n But privately, officials have said they are hopeful that the core message in the king\u2019s speech might help to soothe tensions between the president and the prime minister. The palace said he will argue that shared democratic values are woven deeply into the fabric of both countries.<\/p>\n Palace officials said the king will briefly reference the shooting at the White House correspondents\u2019 dinner on Saturday, offering sympathy to Mr. Trump and those who attended.<\/p>\n But he will focus on the things the United States and Britain have done together. In particular, palace officials said, he will speak about cooperation in the Middle East and Ukraine and will take note of the NATO defense pact and the submarine partnership with Australia and the United States.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has been particularly brutal in his assessment of the British Navy, calling the country\u2019s battleships \u201ctoys.\u201d The palace said the king will speak with particular pride about the Royal Navy and its successes.<\/p>\n Mr. Trump has said he is a fan of the royals, often citing the fact that when he was 6, he watched the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, the king\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n The royal couple\u2019s arrival at Joint Base Andrews kicked off two days of pomp and circumstance in Washington. The king, dressed in a blue suit, and the queen, wearing a pink coat dress, listened as the U.S. military band played the national anthems of Britain and the United States.<\/p>\n The king and queen were greeted by the State Department\u2019s top official in charge of protocol. They walked through an honor cordon of U.S. military personnel before heading to the White House for their first formal stop.<\/p>\n There, the royal couple met briefly with Mr. Trump and Melania Trump, the first lady, and viewed a new White House beehive<\/a>.<\/p>\n The hive, on the South Lawn, is shaped like a miniature White House and is the home for two new bee colonies. Mrs. Trump last week unveiled the latest work of presidential apiculture, the science of maintaining honey bee colonies for pollination, honey production and wax.<\/p>\n The first official White House bee colonies were installed in 2009 by Michelle Obama, the first lady at the time. The bees supported pollination of the White House vegetable garden that Mrs. Obama created as part of her push for healthy eating.<\/p>\n Hives installed by Mrs. Obama support as many as 70,000 bees during peak summer months, according to the White House<\/a>, and can produce up to 225 pounds of honey a year. The Trump administration said Mrs. Trump\u2019s new hive<\/a> could increase production to over 255 pounds of honey annually.<\/p>\n The visit to the White House beehive is a nod to the king\u2019s longstanding interest in environmental issues and conservation.<\/p>\n