IN his historic address to the US Congress, King Charles did not simply show America what real leadership looks like – he showed his own country, too.
Beyond the charm, the humour and the twinkle in those royal peepers, this was a speech of real substance.

King Charles reminded both America and the UK what real leadership truly looks like Credit: Getty

King Charles stood up for the UK and had his US audience listening to every word he uttered Credit: Getty
Yes, there was humour, but there was brutal honesty too. Yes, there was charm aplenty, but there were hard truths as well.
The King looked MAGA America right in the eye, and defiantly stood up for the Royal Navy, Nato, Ukraine — and even our Prime Minister, so widely reviled in Trumpland.
Charles could charm the birds, and the fat-bearded blokes in red MAGA baseball caps, out of the trees.
But do not overlook the real lesson of that speech.

To be a real leader takes real courage.
Donald Trump has repeatedly sneered that old Nato allies were “never there for us”. Charles courteously yet quite brazenly reminded him — and America — that Nato was unwavering in its support for the US after 9/11.
This is what leadership looks like.
King Charles stared down all the hard stuff.

And Sir Keir Starmer can’t.
Keir has a tax-crazed Chancellor who is killing business. He has a green fanatic Energy Secretary who lets Britain’s natural resources rot in the North Sea.

But Starmer lacks the bottle to sack these losers. Keir knows that the benefits bill is not sustainable but is too scared of his backbenchers to attempt even a modest trimming of the magic money tree.
I have no doubt that Starmer is as appalled as anyone in the country at the vicious attacks on our Jewish community.

Sir Keir Starmer is an unpopular politician with the British public – and also with his own party Credit: Getty

The King helped repair the Special Relationship which has frayed in recent weeks and months Credit: Getty
But at the same time he is afraid of haemorrhaging more votes to the Greens and frightened about upsetting Labour’s Muslim voters.
When he finally arrived in Golders Green this week — long after Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage had been on those streets where two men were stabbed — the PM’s bulletproof limo was whisked past angry locals.
Kemi and Nigel both talked to the community about what it means to be a Jew in Britain today.
Keir Starmer could not quite find the nerve to do the same.

It was an act of shameful cowardice. In stark contrast, the King ducked nothing.
Charles — in his quiet, understated way — reminded America and its President that Nato troops did not “stay off the front line” as Donald Trump so offensively suggested. Charles stood up for the Royal Navy — whose ships were derided as “toys” by the American President.
And the King stood up for the brave, freedom-loving people of Ukraine — in the city where Ukraine’s President ­Volodymyr Zelensky was so recently abused by Trump and his stooges.
From European defence spending and Putin’s aggression, to concerns that Trump’s Iran has not been subject to the usual democratic processes, no subject was too risky for the King to address.
But from the madness of Net Zero and the ballooning benefits bill to rampant Islamism, the PM can’t handle the truth.
Keir can’t even own his catastrophic call of sending Lord Mandy to Washington.
Blame civil servant Olly Robbins. Blame Downing Street bag carrier Morgan McSweeney. As Shaggy had it — “It wasn’t me!”
Perhaps it is unfair to compare a King who is finally fulfilling his diplomatic destiny to a mediocre PM who is out of his depth and who will be gone very soon.
But it is well worth noting what real leadership looks like. The King stood up for this country in the US.
And for all the feebleness of our miserable socialist masters, Britain will never be broken while Charles is on the throne.

THE Prince and Princess of Wales marked their 15th wedding anniversary by releasing a never- before-seen photo of their family.
Believed to have been taken during a family holiday in Cornwall last month, the shot finds William and Catherine sprawled on the grass with their children and their pets, cocker spaniel Orla and a new puppy, Otto.
William and Catherine have been through a lot in 15 years. The birth of George, Louis and Charlotte.
The bitter falling out with William’s younger brother and his missus. Kate’s battle with cancer.
Every family in the world faces its trials and trauma over the course of 15 years.
For all their privilege, it feels like William and Catherine have had more than their share.
They have faced it all with grace, courage and humility.
And ensured the future of the British monarchy for at least a few more generations.
Jacko movie magic

The Michael Jackson biopic is loved by the masses and disliked by the critics Credit: AP
SLAUGHTERED by the critics, Hollywood’s biopic of Michael Jackson has stormed the global box office, earning $217million on its opening weekend – the biggest-ever debut for any music biopic.

“Insulting both to audience and subject,” sneered the New York Times.
Never has there been such a gap between what the critics said and what the popcorn-munching masses think about a film.
Personally, I loved it.
The two central performances – Jacko’s nephew Jaafar Jackson in the leading role, Juliano Valdi as young Michael – bottle the magic of Michael Jackson.
The fact the film ends in 1988 makes critics suspect a cop-out – because it stops before the allegations of child abuse that dogged Jackson in his later years.
Yet Michael – partially funded by the Jackson family – does not shy away from some of his difficult moments.
We see domestic violence as Joe Jackson, the head of the family, takes his belt to young Michael. We witness Jacko’s unhealthy addiction to cosmetic surgery.
And we see the Wacko Jacko strangeness – not least when Bubbles the chimp bowls up in a diaper.
But we also see the magic.
We see Michael Jackson at his most mercurial, a black Elvis who could move like Fred Astaire.

If you ever loved Michael Jackson’s music, this film will send your spirits soaring.
“His Story Continues”, it says when the curtain comes down in 1988.
The sequel is going to be a much harder sell.

THERE is a central mystery to Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
Food inflation could hit seven per cent by the end of the year. Business is battered by rising energy bills, increased National Insurance contributions and punitive taxation.
The economy is a dead parrot.
So why does Rachel Reeves always look so insufferably smug?

Zara’s tickled with her award

Zara Larsson received an award from Tyla – who was wearing nothing but feathers Credit: Getty
SWEDISH singing sensation Zara Larsson received an award from South African songbird Tyla, who wore a dress made of nothing but feathers.
Zara thanked her mother, her sister and her manager.

Tyla thanked her lucky stars she did not start moulting.
Winnie shot a winner

President Trump’s critics did not like his AI post holding a machine gun Credit: TruthSocial

Former Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously posted with a gun during the war Credit: Alamy
PRESIDENT Trump posts an image of himself toting an assault rifle, and the howls of outrage can be heard from one end of Instagram to the far end of X.
The general consensus is – who else would do such a thing?
What other leader in history would be nutty enough to pose in such a proudly belligerent fashion? Who else would think it is a good idea to model a machine gun?
And the answer is – Winston Churchill.
One of the most famous photographs of our wartime leader was taken in the summer of 1940, when Churchill was visiting coastal defences near Hartlepool.
The Tommy gun was associated with American mobsters of the Prohibition era.
Nazi Germany used this photograph as propaganda, claiming it showed the British leader was nothing more than a common gangster.

And if it works slightly better than the Trump image, that is because Churchill looks as though he might actually pull the trigger.

TYSON FURY, 37, and Anthony Joshua, 36, are finally going to fight each other.
And nothing gets the blood of a British boxing fan pumping like a domestic dust-up. British fight of the century is ON.
Although first AJ has to beat Kristian Prenga, a 6ft 5in Albanian knock-out specialist.
What could possibly go wrong?

Cynthia Erivo ran the London Marathon – and then returned to her theatre role the next day Credit: Getty
WICKED star Cynthia Erivo, 39, ran the London Marathon in three hours and 21 minutes.
What made Erivo’s run remarkable is that the next day she was doing another marathon at the Noel Coward Theatre – playing all 23 roles in her barnstorming one-woman performance of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
It is currently the most demanding role in the West End.
There have been reports of complaints about cancelled performances, including the day before the marathon, left.

Cynthia’s run as Dracula is scheduled to last until May 30.
My daughter and I have tickets for May 27.
We do hope you make it to that finishing line, Cynthia!