Hundreds of members of the U.S. military stood in formation at the White House on Tuesday to welcome Britain’s King Charles III and Queen Camilla, as President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“Honoring the British king might seem an ironic beginning to our celebration of 250 years of American independence,” the president said to the crowd. “But in fact, no tribute could be more appropriate.”
“Long before Americans had a nation or a Constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed,” Trump continued. “Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts: moral courage, and it came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea.”
The rain abated just minutes before the monarch was feted with a meticulously choreographed ceremony: a fife-and-drum corps in perfect unison, as well as “The President’s Own” Marine band performing both national anthems, and a 21-gun salute reverberating across the South Lawn.
The president and the king went on to preside over the first-ever pass in review conducted at the White House, which featured 300 U.S. service members. Nearly 500 personnel drawn from all six branches of the armed forces were present at the event, according to the office of the first lady.
The occasion also marked the debut of a Space Force Honor Guard detachment.
To bring the pageantry to a close, the Trumps and the royals, standing on the Truman Balcony, observed an official flyover of four F-35s. The president raised a fist after the jets roared overhead.
Trump, during his remarks, praised the U.S. and U.K. militaries for their long history of fighting side by side — a shift toward warmer rhetoric amid chilly relations between Washington and London as of late.
“In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British,” Trump asserted. “We share that same root, we speak the same language, we hold the same values and together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under twin banners of red, white and blue.”
In recent weeks, the president has reserved particular ire for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his unwillingness to join the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran. Trump has castigated Starmer’s refusal to commit military support, describing him as a “coward” and “no Churchill.”
Officials on both sides of the Atlantic have expressed hope that the monarch — who remains politically neutral — might help catalyze a détente between the White House and Downing Street and restore the so-called “special relationship” that bonds the two governments. Asked ahead of the arrival whether the king has the power to repair relations, Trump responded: “Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely. The answer is yes.”
Tanya Noury is a reporter for Military Times and Defense News, with coverage focusing on the White House and Pentagon.