00:00Indeed, you recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States,
00:05European countries would be speaking German.
00:08Dare I say that if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French.
00:14As the direct descendant of King George III, I know this is a nation that never gives up.
00:23And my family's history remains reflected in your maps,
00:27which read rather like our Christmas card list across the ages.
00:34North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and the cities of Charleston,
00:42a particular favourite of mine, obviously.
00:47Georgetown, and for that matter, Georgia.
00:51Annapolis, as you mentioned.
00:53And further favourites, Prince William County and Williamsburg.
01:00This said, our French friends can feel equally at home with a glance at a map.
01:06Indeed, you recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States,
01:11European countries would be speaking German.
01:15Dare I say that if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French.
01:31Of course, we both love our French cousins greatly,
01:34and we three estates are not only bound by our shared values,
01:39but by a profound belief that together we are more than the sum of our parts.
01:46Out of the fires of a bitter and bloody revolutionary war,
01:49the triumph of the father of this country, George Washington,
01:53and his fellow founders, was to forge a democracy founded upon the rights to liberty
01:58and the rule of law.
02:01The story of Britain and America is one of reconciliation
02:07from adversaries to the closest of allies,
02:10not always perhaps following the straightest path.
02:13As you said yourself, Mr. President,
02:15during your own state visit at Windsor Castle last year,
02:19ours is an unbreakable bond of history and heritage,
02:22culture and commerce, industry and invention,
02:25and we are determined to face the future together.
02:30Tonight, we are here to renew an indispensable alliance
02:35which has long been a cornerstone of prosperity and security
02:39for both British and American citizens.
02:43Our people have fought and fallen together
02:45in defence of the values we cherish across the ocean
02:51and from coast to coast, we have traded, innovated and created together.
02:57We have stood together through the best and worst of times.
03:03However, the challenges we now face
03:05from those who wish us harm across the world
03:07to balancing the risks and opportunities of powerful new technologies
03:12to the threats to the very international rules
03:15that have allowed us to trade
03:17and have kept power in balance for 80 years,
03:19those challenges encourage us to reaffirm tonight
03:23the basis on which our partnership has been built.
03:27And yes, we have had our moments of difficulty
03:31even in more recent history.
03:34When my mother visited in 1957,
03:37not the least of her tasks
03:39was to help put the special back
03:40into our relationship
03:42after a crisis in the Middle East.
03:45Nearly 70 years on,
03:47it is hard to imagine
03:47anything like that happening today.
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