President Donald Trump described his state banquet at Windsor Castle on Wednesday night as “one of the highest honors of my life,” thanking King Charles III for the lavish welcome and calling on the US and UK to continue defending “the values of the English-speaking world.”

The event took place in St. George’s Hall, decorated with heraldic shields and medieval armor. Trump, 79, sat between King Charles, 76, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, who is recovering from cancer treatment. First Lady Melania Trump, dressed in a striking yellow Carolina Herrera gown with a lilac belt, was seated with Prince William and Queen Camilla.

Lighthearted Jokes and a Shared History

In his speech, Trump praised both the king and the British people. “This is truly one of the highest honors of my life — such respect for you and such respect for your country,” he said, adding humorously that he hoped to be the “last” American president to be invited twice.

Charles, for his part, looked back on his own ties to America. “I have always admired the ingenuity of the American people and the principles of freedom, which your great democracy has represented since its inception,” he said, recalling his first US trip in 1970.

The king even joked about old speculation that President Richard Nixon had once tried to pair him with his daughter Tricia, saying, “Had the media succeeded in the 1970s, I myself might have been married off within the Nixon family.”