King Charles III Made History in Congress

By: Miriam Edelman

King Charles III recently made history by becoming the first King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to address a joint session of Congress. When he spoke in the chamber of the House of Representatives on April 28, 2026, he was the second British monarch, the first one being his mother Queen Elizabeth II on May 16, 1991, and the 11^th King or Queen to address Congress.  

This Congressional speech was part of a four-day state visit to the U.S. by King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla. The visit was the first state visit by a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II’s state visit in 2007. According to the British Royal Family, the reigning British monarch made this visit “to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and celebrate the close ties between the two nations.”

On April 27, 2026, the King and Queen reached Joint Base Andrews near Washington, D.C. After President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump greeted the King and Queen at the White House, they had tea in the White House and visited the White House’s beehives. On April 28^th, King Charles addressed Congress, and the King and Queen attended a state dinner at the White House. On April 29^th, King Charles and Queen Camilla visited New York City, where they went to the 9/11 memorial in lower Manhattan to recognize the upcoming 25^th anniversary of 9/11 (both), Harlem (King), New York Public Library (Queen), a trade event (King), and a reception for King’s Trust (both). On April 30^th, the King and the Queen went to Virginia, where they visited the Arlington National Cemetery, Front Royal, and Shenandoah National Park, before leaving the U.S. from Joint Base Andrews. 

On April 1, 2026, Republican and Democratic top leaders of the Senate and House invited the King to address Congress. In their letter, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) wrote:

“This year, the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of its independence. As we celebrate this historic milestone and recommit ourselves to the principles upon which our nation was founded, we also recognize that the American experiment endures in no small part because of the British tradition from which it sprang. We believe an Address to Congress will provide a unique opportunity to share your vision for the future of our special relationship and reaffirm our alliance at this pivotal time in history.”

Unlike Queen Elizabeth II’s 1991 speech to Congress, King Charles discussed taxation without representation in his Congressional address:

“With the spirit of 1776 in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree – at least in the first instance. Indeed, the very principle on which your Congress was founded – no taxation without representation – was at once a fundamental disagreement between us, and at the same time a shared democratic value which you inherited from us.

Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it, so perhaps, in this example, we can discern that our nations are in fact instinctively like-minded – a product of the common democratic, legal and social traditions in which our governance is rooted to this day.”

King Charles is a fifth-great grandchild of King George III (serving as King from October 1760 through January 1820), who was King when the 13 colonies broke from the U.K. and became the United States.

It is disgraceful that almost 250 years after the U.S. became independent, the U.S. still subjects residents of its own capital to taxation without representation. According to D.C. government, “DC taxpayers pay federal taxes – more per capita than any state and more total federal taxes than 12 states and pay more in total federal income tax than 19 other states.” Meanwhile, D.C. residents have zero voting representation in either chamber of Congress.

In fact, “taxation without representation” has been the most compelling argument for why D.C. should become a state. DCNOW’s blog’s piece, entitled “Blast from the Past: Republicans Supported Washington, D.C., Autonomy,” discussed a 2019 poll about D.C. statehood, when the majority of Americans supported D.C. statehood. That piece said:

“The argument that tends to get support for D.C. statehood among voters from all over the U.S., across the political spectrum, and with different backgrounds was “taxation without representation.” This point connected with 73 percent of Democrats, 55 percent of Independents, and 42 percent (the largest segment of support) of Republicans.”

No more time should be wasted before taxation without representation finally ends in the United States. The District of Columbia must become a state as soon as possible.