Open Thread - 30 April 2026 - We love the King or do we? And American Music
Submitted by Sima on Thu, 04/30/2026 - 5:00am
We love the King or do we? And American Music
I’m not much of a Kings’ person, so I’ve been ignoring the King’s stuff, although I guess his address to Congress was pretty good (5 Takeaways from the King’s Historic Address to Congress). Ohh and this is the British King, not the wannabe American one (Hi, Prez!).
I’m not sure that the Beeb’s take on this is entirely correct - ‘Smiles and wonder: How the US reacted to King Charles’, but who knows. Here’s a bit:
The United States declared independence from the British crown 250 years ago - but this week, it could not get enough of it.
From the minute King Charles and Queen Camilla stepped onto the White House South Lawn, US networks dumped their standard diet of political warfare and breaking news for something rare: pure pageantry.
In a country that seems to agree on almost nothing, the British royals managed something close to a clean sweep - drawing warm receptions from both sides of a political spectrum where neutral ground is rare.
The visit came at a fraught time in US-British relations, with the White House and Downing Street at odds over the war in Iran, straining a relationship both governments insist remains unshakeable.
The reviews following the King's appearances at the White House, in Congress and in New York were warm across the political divide.
