Kings and Queens Addressing Joint Meetings of Congress
On April 1, 2026, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries jointly invited King Charles III of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to address a joint meeting of Congress. King Charles's address is scheduled to occur on April 28, 2026. King Charles would be the 11th king or queen to address a joint meeting of Congress.
Invitation Process
When a foreign leader formally visits the United States, he or she is sometimes invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. The decision to invite a foreign leader to address Congress has historically been made by the congressional leadership, often in consultation and conjunction with the executive branch. No formal procedure on when or how to issue invitations is codified in law or in House or Senate rules. Not all foreign leaders who visit the United States are invited to address Congress. For more information on foreign leaders who have addressed Congress, see CRS In Focus IF10211, Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress, by Jacob R. Straus.
Past King and Queens Who Have Addressed a Joint Meeting of Congress
To date, 10 individuals holding the title of king or queen have addressed a joint meeting of Congress. The first address by a king or queen occurred on December 18, 1874, when King Kalakaua, from the Kingdom of Hawaii, addressed Congress. The most recent, prior to King Charles III's scheduled address, occurred when King Abdullah II Bin Al Hussein, of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, addressed a joint meeting of Congress on March 7, 2007. Table 1 lists the monarchs that have addressed a joint meeting of Congress.
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Date |
Monarch |
Country |
|
December 18, 1874 |
Kingdom of Hawaii |
|
|
April 3, 1952 |
Kingdom of the Netherlands |
|
|
May 12, 1959 |
Kingdom of Belgium |
|
|
April 28, 1960 |
Kingdom of Nepal |
|
|
June 29, 1960 |
Kingdom of Thailand |
|
|
June 2, 1976 |
Kingdom of Spain |
|
|
April 21, 1982 |
Kingdom of the Netherlands |
|
|
May 16, 1991 |
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland |
|
|
July 26, 1994 |
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
|
|
March 7, 2007 |
Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan |
Source: Historian of the House of Representatives, "Joint Meeting & Joint Session Addresses Before Congress by Foreign Leaders & Dignitaries," http://history.house.gov/Institution/Foreign-Leaders/Joint-Sessions.
Notes:
a. King Kalakaua was unable to deliver his speech "because of a severe cold and hoarseness." The speech was "read by former Representative Elisha Hunt Allen, then serving as Chancellor and Chief Justice of the Hawaiian Islands" on King Kalakaua's behalf. See U.S. Congress, "Joint Sessions and Meetings, Address to the Senate or the House, and Inaugurations," fn. 13, https://www.senate.gov/reference/resources/pdf/joint_sessions.pdf.
b. The address by King Hussein I was a joint address with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. See "Joint Meeting of the House and Senate to Hear Addresses by His Majesty King Hussein I of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan and His Excellency Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel," Congressional Record, vol. 140, part 12 (July 26, 1994), pp. 17891-17895, https://www.congress.gov/103/crecb/1994/07/26/GPO-CRECB-1994-pt12-9-1.pdf.
Most joint meetings of Congress to hear addresses by foreign leaders, including kings and queens, have been held in the Hall of the House. For example, Figure 1 shows King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand addressing a joint meeting of Congress on June 29, 1960.
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Figure 1. King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand Addressing a Joint Meeting of Congress |
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Source: Library of Congress, "Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand speaking before a joint session of the United States Congress, Washington, D.C.," Marion S. Trikosko, June 29, 1960, https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2023631222. |
For more information on foreign leaders addressing Congress, see CRS In Focus IF10211, Foreign Leaders Addressing Congress, by Jacob R. Straus.