ArcaMax

SAN DIEGO -- I did not have on my bingo card that a four-day visit to the United States by the King of England would pack such an emotional punch.

It's positively bonkers! The royals must have magical powers. They can take something and transform it into something else -- or, in my case, someone else.

On Wednesday night, I went to bed as a proud Mexican American, a real live nephew of my tio Samuel. In fact, when I traveled to Great Britain in 2001 to participate in the British-American Project -- a binational leadership program held at Oxford University that paired up about 20 Americans with British counterparts -- I leaned hard into the American half.

But, to my surprise, on Thursday morning -- the last day of the visit by King Charles III and Queen Camila to Washington and New York -- I woke feeling like a bit of an Anglophile.

This was not in my life's script. I prefer coffee over tea.

During "The Troubles," the bloody war in Northern Ireland that lasted roughly 30 years from 1968 to 1998, my sympathies didn't lie with the Brits. As a member of Generation X, I was in high school during the second half of the conflict between (mostly protestant) unionists who wanted Northern Ireland to remain in the United Kingdom and (mostly Catholic) nationalists who wanted to be part of Ireland. Watching from afar, I identified with my fellow Catholics who resembled David fighting Goliath. Later, when I went to college across the Charles River from Boston, my affection for the Irish grew.

Still, I learned a lot from my visit to Great Britain during the British American Project. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, I was enormously impressed with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who was a kindred spirit to former President George W. Bush.

So, for the last two decades or so, I've thought fondly of Great Britain and our friends across the pond.

Yet, this visit by King Charles III and Queen Camila hit different. It was heartwarming. Three things did it for me.

First, that magnificent speech. When Charles spoke to a joint session of Congress -- becoming only the second British monarch to do so, after his mother, Queen Elizabeth -- it felt like an adult had ventured into a raucous day care center to restore order. In his remarks, which he said he was honored to deliver, the King mixed reverence and humility with affability and humor. He even paid respects to that famous bunch of troublemakers who he described as "bold and imaginative rebels with a cause." The Founding Fathers declared independence from Mother England, Charles joked, "250 years ago (or, as we say in the United Kingdom, just the other day ... )."

Second, it was really special to see Charles and Camila travel to New York and pay their respects at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum. Even though President Donald Trump tends to forget it every time he throws a tantrum about how the NATO countries (including Great Britain) don't support the United States, the historical record is clear. As Charles reminded members of Congress, the British quickly came to the aid of the United States after the 9/11 attacks. Blair and the British parliament dispatched as many as 150,000 UK Armed Forces to fight in Afghanistan over the next 20 years. At least 457 of those brave British soldiers didn't make it home. By visiting the 9/11 Memorial, Charles honored them as well.

And third, when the King and Queen visited Arlington National Cemetery, it was with a solemnness that told the world that our two guests knew they were walking on hallowed ground. What struck me was that Charles -- who served in both the Royal Air Force and Royal Navy from 1971 to 1976, training as a jet and helicopter pilot and commanding the coastal minesweeper HMS Bronington -- brought some mementos from home. As he placed a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the King had on his chest an array of service medals and battle ribbons. Even as a royal and the son of the Queen, Charles enlisted in the military. This guy is the real deal.

It was a brief but lovely visit. And now our friends are headed home. The trip fulfilled its purpose, which was to remind Americans that there is a tribe across the Atlantic with whom we will always have a special bond.

Mission accomplished. Well done, Your Majesty.

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To find out more about Ruben Navarrette and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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