A George Washington impersonator attended King Charles III‘s address to Congress on Tuesday evening, watching from above in the gallery of the House chamber as the British monarch spoke.
As Charles hailed the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom, the tribute to the first president of the U.S. and commander of the Continental Army stood as a candid reminder of the origins of that relationship and the independence of the U.S.
The man dressed as Washington in the gallery was Texas pastor Mark Collins, a constituent and friend of Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX). Collins has played a Washington reenactor for several years, including impersonating the former president in National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets, at historical sites such as Colonial Williamsburg and Mount Vernon, and even in social media videos from the Department of Agriculture.
“Who better to attend King Charles III’s address to Congress than the man who led us to independence? Thank you, General George Washington,” Cloud wrote on X.
Charles did address the American Revolution and the initial adversarial relationship between the U.S., born from British colonies before declaring independence, and the U.K., but reframed it as beneficial for the two countries, saying, “Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it.”
“With the spirit of 1776 in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree, at least in the first instance. Indeed, the very principle on which your Congress was founded, no taxation without representation, was at once a fundamental disagreement between us and at the same time a shared democratic value which you inherited from us,” Charles said in his speech to Congress.
The king’s visit comes as the U.S. nears the 250th anniversary of its declaration of independence from Great Britain and at a time when the relationship between the contemporary allies could be at a modern-day low.
KING CHARLES PROMOTES NATO AND WARNS US AGAINST BECOMING ‘INWARD-LOOKING’
Charles also encouraged the U.S. to strengthen its ties with its NATO allies during the Tuesday evening speech, as rifts between the U.S. and other members continue to open over the Iran war.
Trump has been frustrated with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO over the U.K.’s and Europe’s response to the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran after the U.K. refused to fully join in on the strikes and NATO members declined to join a military operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.