It is the ultimate public diplomacy moment: the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Westminster Abbey in London. You are invited — to watch it.
In attendance will be princes and princesses, prime ministers and presidents, and slightly more than 2,000 guests representing their nations as they pay homage to the new monarch.
Expect pomp, pageantry and precision, as Charles, sitting on the historic Coronation Chair, takes an oath to uphold the law and the Church of England in a religious ceremony presided over by the archbishop of Canterbury. It is the stuff of fairytales, complete with a gold state coach carrying the royals from Buckingham Palace.
But beyond the symbolism and historic nature of the coronation are serious issues of politics and global affairs.
At a time of war in Europe, America cherishes its “special relationship” with England, so designated by none other than Sir Winston Churchill in March 1946 at a speech he delivered in Fulton, Mo. In that speech, the prime minister spoke of the supreme task of America and Great Britain to “guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war.” To accomplish that goal, Churchill called for “the fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples,” and what he termed “a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States.”
Over the succeeding decades, American and British relations deepened with intelligence-sharing, economic bilateral investments and the social and cultural ties of a common language. The war in Ukraine has cemented the relationship, as both countries share a negative view of Russia and growing support for NATO.
But like all relationships, that between America and the Brits has had its ups and downs:
There were the Thatcher-Reagan years of shared conservative views and mutual trust — what many said were two peas in a pod who brought their countries together in the shadow of the Cold War.
Another close relationship was that of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and then-President Bill Clinton. They had enormous faith in one another navigating their nations through a Balkans War in the late 1990s, which became the subject of an HBO documentary.
And then there were the rocky moments. Then-London mayor Boris Johnson infamously accused President Barack Obama of being anti-British because of his Kenyan roots and even insinuated that Obama had moved a bust of Churchill from the Oval Office.
Relations between London and Washington were strained often during the presidency of Donald Trump, with the former president reportedly saying, at one point, he would not deal with the British ambassador to the United States after the envoy described the U.S. administration as “clumsy” and “inept” in secret correspondence.
When British Prime Minister Liz Truss was elected, she suggested that the relationship with America was “special, but not exclusive.” That roiled the American side.
But Truss didn’t last very long, and by all accounts the new prime minister, Rishi Sunak, says the relationship between our two countries is in “great shape” after Biden’s recent trip to Ireland.
Some Brits have complained about President Biden sending his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, to the coronation on Saturday, but in all fairness, Biden has made four trips to the UK since taking office, including attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II last year. No American president has attended a coronation.
As the coronation nears, whatever happens in the realm of global politics, British and American citizens continue to enjoy their “special relationship.” On the U.S. side, there are dozens of British-themed television shows airing such as “The Diplomat,” and “Spies Among Friends,” and of course the enduring power of “The Crown.”
On the other side of the Atlantic, Americans continue to travel to Britain, taking advantage of a weak pound and a strong dollar. And millions of Americans are expected to watch the coronation since Charles will become only the third British monarch to have a coronation broadcast on television, and the first in 70 years.
America truly has no greater ally than the United Kingdom. So, enjoy the coronation and the chance to celebrate a special relationship at a unique moment.
Tara D. Sonenshine is former U.S. undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and the Edward R. Murrow Professor of Practice at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.