BETHLEHEM, Pa. – For Bethlehem’s UNESCO Work Heritage Site Manager, British born Katie Faull, her native country’s history hits close to her adopted home.
“They were prisoners of the Continental Army. Encamped down here with their women,” she said of the British soldiers Revolutionary War Bethlehem location.
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of that Revolutionary War loss, King Charles is making a royal visit to the White House. This after President Trump did his British royal tour earlier this year at Windsor Castle.
“I think it’s a great thing. I think we are obviously in complicated times,” said Faull, whose official title is Vice President for Moravian Heritage at Moravian University.
It’s the first British monarch visit since 2007, when Queen Elizabeth marked the 400th anniversary of founding of Jamestown, Virginia.
“The British are very good at diplomacy, and the royal family has always been a really important agent of soft diplomacy,” Faull said.
King Charles will need a light touch.
In his second term, President Trump placed tariffs on England and strongly criticized Prime Minister Kier Starmer’s stance on the war in Ukraine and Iran, NATO, and most recently, questioned England’s stake in the Falkland Islands.
Muhlenberg College Professor of Political Science Brian Mello says not since Queen Elizabeth’s 1957 visit with President Eisenhower, amidst a big split between the U.S. and Britain over the Suez Canal, have diplomatic tensions run this high.
“Monarchical visit with President Eisenhower did a lot to repair that transatlantic relationship that had frayed at that point in time. So, I think it can potentially be useful for bridging gaps that develop in in foreign policy between the two countries,” he said.
As for that historical loss.
“It was 250 years ago. So, I do think that we’ve got over it.” Faull chuckled.
Proving time, has a way of reshaping even the deepest divides.