Echo Comment on the royal visit by King Charles to the US

The potential for pitfalls was immense but the king has pulled off a balancing act, being friendly and respectful to his host while at the same time gently pointing out some brutal truths.

It was very brave to give a little history lesson to a president who likes to govern by decree about how executive power “subject to checks and balances” was enshrined in both UK and US law thanks to the Magna Carta.

Charles, in his plummy accent, spoke up for Nato, for Ukraine, for the Royal Navy, for Great Britain in two crafted speeches delivered deftly with humour. He even obliquely referred to the victims of the Epstein scandal.

Britain has been bruised and belittled by Mr Trump, by his wars, his tariffs and his belligerence, but the king has given him a gentle lesson in  statesmanship and civility.

Of course, Charles’ position as head of state is easy – he doesn’t, unlike the prime minister, have to make real decisions, like whether Britain should have joined a war that was unwise, to say the least. But this was one in the eye for those who wanted the visit called off.

The president lapped it all up, breaking protocol by touching the royal knee and by giving away the king’s thoughts expressed in a private conversation – “Charles agrees with me, even more than I do”, said Mr Trump in a marvellous mangling of the English language.

Whether the president was actually listening and taking it in only time will  tell – he may just have been topping up his tan by basking in the golden glow of the royal pageantry.