President Trump hosted a historic state dinner at the White House tonight honoring King Charles and Queen Camilla. During the event, the British monarch cracked several jokes during his speech, thanking President Trump and Melania for the invitation and describing the gathering as “a very considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.”

Charles also delivered a humorous rebuttal to President Trump’s comments about European language use, quipping: “Dare I say, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!” He later paid tribute to President Trump following the former president’s survival of a third assassination attempt, acknowledging his “courage and steadfastness” as well as the security services’ swift response.

The king presented President Trump with a significant gift: the original bell from a British World War II submarine designated HMS Trump. Charles also referenced historical U.S.-British ties during his remarks, noting that “our people have fought and fallen together in defense of the values we cherish.” He added that he was “here to renew an indispensable alliance,” highlighting shared history while joking about White House renovations: “I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing. I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.”