King Charles III touched on several timely and extremely important subjects in his state visit… but also let loose with a joke or two.
As we’ve been following, the British monarch traveled stateside this week for a historic visit to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. On Tuesday, he made a stop in Washington D.C. for a dinner put on by President Donald Trump, who has been a vocal fan of the British royal family. Well, most of the fam, at least! His Majesty stood before Congress and delivered a 30-minute speech, where he touched on the “special relationship,” as he put it, shared between the US and the UK. But he also had a few gags up his sleeve!
Opening with a cheeky joke, the King said:
“As you may know, when I address my own Parliament at Westminster, we still follow an age-old tradition and take a member of Parliament ‘hostage,’ holding him or her at Buckingham Palace until I am safely returned. These days, we look after our ‘guest’ rather well — to the point that they often do not want to leave! I don’t know, Mr. Speaker, if there were any volunteers for that role here today?”
What a way to break the ice! LOLz!
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Pointing to his 4th great-grandfather King George III, he joked about the US winning independence from the UK centuries ago:
“King George never set foot in America and, please rest assured, I am not here as part of some cunning rearguard action!”
He added:
“The Founding Fathers were bold and imaginative rebels with a cause. 250 years ago, or, as we say in the United Kingdom, just the other day, they declared Independence.”
HA!
Charles continued to make the room laugh while quoting Oscar Wilde:
“We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language.”
So many jokes! You can listen to his speech in its entirety (below):
After the speech, the world leaders made their way to the White House, where Charles flexed more of his comedic prowess in a toast. Offering Trump a golden bell from the Royal Navy submarine HMS, which fought in the Battle of the Pacific during World War II, he joked:
“May it stand as a testimony to our nations’ shared history and shining future. And should you ever need to get hold of us … well, just give us a ring!”
Ha!
Elsewhere, commenting on a bit Trump previously said about how different some European countries would look had it not been for US intervention, Charles quipped:
“Indeed, you recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French.”
The daring joke was in reference to the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which ended the Seven Years’ War, in which Great Britain gained massive global power and shifted the world out of France’s grip.
The King followed up by raising his glass and declaring the function was “a considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.” The man was on fire with the jokes!
In another quip, Charles prodded at Trump’s massively expensive ballroom project while referencing the British burning of the White House in 1814:
“It is a particular pleasure to be back in this wonderful building, the heart of your democracy. On this occasion, I cannot help noticing the ‘readjustments’ to the East Wing, Mr. President, following your visit to Windsor Castle last year. I am sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.”
LOLz!
Who would have guessed King Charles III would bring a tidal wave of jokes with him from across this pond?!
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