The King’s Speech

Dear St Andrews, 

Earlier this week, King Charles III gave a landmark speech to a joint meeting of the United States Congress in Washington. It was a striking moment: the British monarch addressing American lawmakers 250 years after America’s declaration of independence.

Much of the speech celebrated the enduring relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States. The King spoke of shared history, democratic resilience, common values, modern security partnerships and the deep ties that still bind the two nations together. He even managed a few jokes, including a gentle acknowledgement that the two countries remain divided by a common language. And, pleasingly, he gave Australia a brief shout-out as well.

But the most significant part of the speech, to my mind, was not political or diplomatic. It was spiritual.

The King said:

“For many here – and for myself – the Christian faith is a firm anchor and daily inspiration that guides us not only personally, but together as members of our community.”

He went on to speak of his lifelong commitment to interfaith understanding, his faith in “the triumph of light over darkness” (John 1:5), his prayer that the nations might “stem the beating of ploughshares into swords” (Isaiah 2:4), and his Easter hope as the source of compassion, peace, mutual understanding and the valuing of all people, “of all faiths, and of none.”

It was, I think, one of the most explicit public statements King Charles has made about his own Christian faith. He spoke of it not as a cultural inheritance or a private decoration, but as a daily anchor, a source of hope, and a motivation for public life.

And that is worth noticing. In a post-Christian world, and in a highly charged political context, the King gently but clearly brought his audience’s minds to Christ. He did not name Jesus directly. But by speaking of Easter, light overcoming darkness, peace, prayer and hope, he pointed to the very heart of the Christian message.

This was not relativism. It was not saying that all faiths are the same. Rather, it was an expression of a deeply Christian conviction: that every person has worth before God, that faith cannot be coerced, and that we should therefore work for a society in which people are free to seek, speak, believe and worship.

There is something for us to learn here. We too are called to be public Christians: gracious, outward-looking, thoughtful and courageous. We can make and seize opportunities for spiritual conversation. We can speak of Christ with humility and confidence. And we can do so while loving and valuing all people.

For faith in the risen Christ is not only our private comfort. It is our firm anchor, our daily inspiration, and the source of a generous, compassionate and peace-making life.

Well done, Your Majesty.

James