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LONDON — <\/span>The challenge for King Charles III<\/a> as he embarks on this week’s state visit to the U.S. is, as always, to live up to his mother\u2019s example.<\/p>\n The late Queen Elizabeth II<\/a> wowed Congress in 1991 with a speech that celebrated the shared democratic traditions of Britain and the United States, quoted Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and highlighted the deep bonds between the two nations.<\/p>\n Those themes will also be at the top of Charles\u2019 agenda as he celebrates America’s 250th birthday and seeks to calm tensions surrounding Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s<\/a> refusal to support U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s war against Iran, said Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University in Texas.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got to always make the distinction that there\u2019s a difference between the government of the U.K. and the kings and queens of Great Britain, who are really always coming to try to put (on) a good face,\u201d Brinkley told The Associated Press. \u201cPolitics come and go, prime ministers, presidents, come and go, but there\u2019s something deeper about the special relationship between the United States and the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n Beneath the pomp and pageantry of Charles\u2019 four-day trip to Washington, New York and Virginia is a carefully choreographed diplomatic event staged, like all royal visits, at the request of the British government. Starmer resisted pressure to cancel it after Trump belittled the British military\u2019s sacrifices<\/a> in Afghanistan and criticized him personally for failing to back the U.S. in Iran.<\/p>\n Despite those tensions, Trump has continued to speak warmly about Charles.<\/p>\n \u201cHistory has shown that President Trump really tries to be impressive whenever he\u2019s dealing with British royalty,\u201d Brinkley said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m sure it\u2019ll be the same this time around.\u201d<\/p>\n Ever since 1939, when King George VI became the first British monarch to set foot on the soil of the country\u2019s former colony, there\u2019s been a special sort of excitement whenever the royals come to the United States.<\/p>\n Take that first visit, which took place as World War II loomed over Europe. The royals toured the east coast and attended a \u201cpicnic\u201d at Roosevelt\u2019s private home in Hyde Park, New York. \u201cKing tries hot dog and asks for more,\u2019\u2019 declared the New York Times. <\/p>\n But the big moment was when the royals traveled to Mount Vernon to lay a wreath at the tomb of George Washington, America\u2019s first president. It showed respect at a time of isolationism.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople could see the handwriting on the wall and know that it was going to be important for the United States and Britain to stay strong for fighting against Hitler,\u201d said Barbara Perry, a presidential scholar at the University of Virginia\u2019s Miller Center.<\/p>\n But bonding over sausages had broader benefits, helping the royals build links to the general public as well as its leadership. After war broke out in September 1939, Queen Elizabeth, the wife of George VI and mother of the future Elizabeth II, wrote to first lady Eleanor Roosevelt to say how moved she’d been by letters from Americans who enclosed small sums for British forces.<\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, during the last terrible months, we have felt rather lonely in our fight against evil things, but I can honestly say that our hearts have been lightened by the knowledge that friends in America understand what we are fighting for,\u2019\u2019 she wrote.<\/p>\n Queen Elizabeth<\/a> II built on those relationships, making four state visits to the U.S. during her 70-year reign. She helped President Gerald R. Ford celebrate America\u2019s bicentennial in 1976 and met with President George W. Bush in 2007 as British and American forces fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p>\n Smoothing turbulent waters and reminding both sides about their common bonds were what those trips were all about.<\/p>\n Charles\u2019 visit will be no different. It includes a commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, a ceremony honoring fallen service members and an event to be attended by Queen Camilla to mark the 100th anniversary of Winnie the Pooh stories by British author A.A. Milne.<\/p>\n Awkward events will be avoided.<\/p>\n The royals won\u2019t meet with Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, despite calls for the king to address his brother\u2019s<\/a> links to the convicted sex offender. Nor are there plans for Charles to meet with his son Prince Harry<\/a>, who has been a critic of the monarchy since giving up royal duties and moving to California.<\/p>\n Those issues aren\u2019t the priority, said Robert Hardman, author of \u201cElizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside Story.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going because 250 years ago the Founding Fathers of the USA kicked out his great-times-five grandfather, and he\u2019s going to say, `No hard feelings, it\u2019s been a great divorce, we\u2019ve had a lovely 250 years and let\u2019s reflect on the high points,\u2019\u2019\u2019 Hardman said. \u201cI mean, there are going to be some very, very large elephants in the room during that visit \u2026 but, you know, there are plenty of other things for the king to focus on.\u201d<\/p>\n Charles\u2019 speech to a joint session of Congress offers the chance to deliver the message that long-term friendship is more important than transient disputes.<\/p>\n He is also likely to offer a bit of humor, as his mother did when she faced lawmakers in 1991.<\/p>\n Wearing soft peach amid a sea of gray suits, the diminutive monarch began her remarks with a joke about a blunder at the White House the day before, when her lectern was so tall it obscured the audience\u2019s view of her.<\/p>\n \u201cI do hope you can see me today from where you are,\u2019\u2019 she deadpanned.<\/p>\n The chamber erupted in laughter. A standing ovation followed. Then she launched into a speech about democratic values, the rule of law and the Atlantic Alliance.<\/p>\n But Charles will have to offer his own take on those ideas, Brinkley said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe theme of the speech is going to be American exceptionalism, American history, the importance of U.S.-British alliance, and some memories from the past,\u201d he said. \u201cBut also about the love affair the two countries share with each other, even though it goes over rocky rapids from time to time.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n