The monarch’s mother similarly spoke about how diplomacy is the only way forward when tensions break on the world’s stage

Charles Prince of Wales and Queen Elizabeth II during public events

King Charles addresses a Joint Meeting of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2026; Queen Elizabeth addresses a Joint Session of the Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol on May 16, 1991.Credit : Kylie Cooper-Pool/Getty; Dennis Brack/Pool via CNP/Getty

King Charles argued that the world is a more treacherous place than it was during Queen Elizabeth’s last Congressional address when he spoke at the United States Capitol.

On April 28, the King, 77, addressed a joint meeting of Congress in a highly anticipated engagement of his state visit to the U.S.

The King and his wife, Queen Camilla, are spending four days in the U.S. this week for an official state visit commemorating America’s 250th, and he called out how the state of the world has shifted since his late mother last spoke at the Capitol in 1991.

The sovereign cited how his grandfather, King George VI, was the first British monarch to officially visit the U.S. in 1939 when “the forces of fascism in Europe were on the march,” but before the U.S. got involved, noting that ultimately “our shared values prevailed.”

“Today, we find ourselves in a new era, but those values remain,” King Charles said in his speech in Washington, D.C. “It is an era that is, in many ways, more volatile and more dangerous than the world to which my late mother spoke, in this Chamber, in 1991.”

King Charles III addresses a joint meeting of Congress as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) look on at the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2026 in Washington, DC. In his first visit to the U.S. as the British monarch, King Charles III addressed Congress as part of a multi-day trip to the nation's capital, New York City, and Virginia celebrating the United States of America's 250th anniversary of its independence.

King Charles addresses a joint meeting of Congress as U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson look on at the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2026.Chip Somodevilla/Getty

“The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone. But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements or assume that foundational principles simply endure,” he continued.

“As my prime minister said last month: ‘Ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last eighty years. Instead, we must build on it,’ ” he said, quoting British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The King’s comment that the world is now “more volatile and more dangerous” than it was in 1991 comes as the U.K. and U.S. take different positions on the war in Iran. The conflict has driven a distance between the nations, putting pressure on the King’s diplomatic trip to help improve relations.

Charles Prince of Wales speaking at a podium with a microphone

King Charles speaks to a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol on April 28, 2026.Kylie Cooper/Reuters/Bloomberg via Getty

King Charles’ state visit also continued after a shooting happened at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. On April 25, a gunman opened fire near the press event, which President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and other prominent political figures attended.

A Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed the next day that the diplomatic trip would continue, and PEOPLE understands that King Charles and Queen Camilla privately contacted the Trumps.

The King spoke about the startling shooting, the historic relationship between the U.S. and U.K., America’s 250th, today’s global political climate and more in his sweeping speech, which was a historic address.

A formal gathering of officials and seated audience in a grand hall with an American flag in the background

King Charles speaks to a Joint Meeting of Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol on April 28, 2026.Samir Hussein/WireImage

King Charles became just the second British sovereign in history to address Congress when he spoke on Tuesday, following in the footsteps of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, who spoke at the U.S. Capitol in May 1991. That trip proved to be the third of four state visits the Queen would make to the states during her record 70-year reign and she similarly hinted that diplomatic relations are the only true way forward in her address there.

“Some people believe that power grows from the barrel of a gun. So it can. But history shows that it never grows well, nor for very long. Force, in the end, is sterile,” Queen Elizabeth said then.

Elizabeth II speaking at a formal event

Queen Elizabeth addresses a Joint Session of the Congress in the House Chamber at the US Capitol, Washington DC, May 16, 1991.Dennis Brack/Pool via CNP/Getty

“We have gone a better way. Our societies rest on mutual agreement, on contract, and on consensus. A significant part of your social contract is written down in your Constitution. Ours rests on custom and will. The spirit behind both, however, is precisely the same. It is the spirit of democracy. These ideals are clear enough, but they must never be taken for granted,” she said.

King Charles’ Congressional address was interrupted with over a dozen rounds of applause, many of them standing ovations.

Queen Camilla supported him during his speech in the House Chamber, and a palace spokesperson said that the sovereign was moved by the warm response.

“The King was deeply honored to have been invited to be the first British King to give such an address and was greatly touched by the warmth and generosity of the response he received,” the spokesperson said.