King Charles III's Congress speech praised; Trump scraps Scotch whisky tariffs

King Charles III's address to the US Congress last week was a "high stakes" moment that earned 12 standing ovations, a senior royal aide said, as the monarch urged lawmakers to defend Ukraine and support NATO. The state visit also yielded a surprise trade win: President Donald Trump announced the scrapping of US tariffs on Scotch whisky imports, calling it a concession to the visiting royals. A YouGov poll published Saturday found 74% of the UK public thought the King handled the visit well, a sharp reversal from pre-trip skepticism.

Addressing the US Congress on Tuesday, the King used humour and charm but delivered a surprisingly direct message about the need for the US to support democratic values. "Everything that is in that speech is an observable fact. And so, I think we felt very comfortable with the King speaking as he did," said the senior royal aide, who said the monarch was guided by a sense of "truth" and "conscience." The speech was welcomed by US lawmakers, with the King receiving 12 standing ovations.

On the personal chemistry between the King and Trump, the aide said: "They get on very well... It's a pairing, unlikely though it might be in many ways… I mean, given some of the issues that have presented themselves in the bilateral relationship, you'd think it might all be a bit tricky. But far from it. And the warmth that you see in public is absolutely the warmth you see in private. That meeting in the Oval Office, there was an awful lot of warmth and laughter."

The state visit was at the request of the UK government, the aide said. "It's not a competition between the King and the government. The King is there to support the government, to help the government. It was at the government's request, of course, that he undertook this visit."

During the state dinner, Trump suggested the King agreed with him on Iran, saying: "We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we're never going to let that opponent ever - Charles agrees with me even more than I do - we're never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon." Buckingham Palace said Trump's comment was in line with the UK government's position on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Later, Trump continued to suggest the King supported his line on Iran, saying: "If that were up to him, he would have probably helped us with Iran." There was no comment from Buckingham Palace on that remark.

At the end of the visit, Trump announced US tariffs would be scrapped on Scotch whisky imports, seen as an important boost to the Scottish whisky industry. Trump said the visiting royals "got me to do something that nobody else was able to do, without hardly even asking."

The YouGov poll, based on a sample of 4,500 people, found 74% of the UK public thought the King handled the state visit well, compared with 4% who thought he handled it badly. That marked a big turnaround from pre-visit polls that had found more people wanting to call off the trip and widespread skepticism about its value.

Andrew Lownie, author of a biography of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, said: "What's most astonishing is the reaction not just of monarchists but of British republicans. Given the public pessimism and foreboding that led up to the visit, this is a considerable triumph for the King." In Saturday's New York Times, Maureen Dowd wrote: "The King deftly schooled Donald, and Donald took it because he has always been awed by the British royal family."

The senior royal aide said: "What looked like risk and challenge was also a phenomenal opportunity. One that was grasped in both hands by the King."