President Trump: From English towns and Scottish hills, from Welsh mountains and Irish villages, a people unique in history sailed across the mighty Atlantic to settle and civilize this continent, in the name of God, King, and Country. So beautiful. They called it New England, and meant that very, very literally. The first Americans saw themselves as freemen carrying the forward and central liberties and ancient rites of the Anglo-Saxons into this new and beautiful world. In the eyes of America's founders, our war of independence was fought, not to reject this heritage, but to reclaim it, and perfect it. As the founding father, George Mason, wrote, "We claim nothing but the liberty and privileges of Englishmen, in the same degree as we had still, continued among our brethren when we were in Great Britain". The Declaration of Independence was a miracle of the ages that sparked a far-reaching revolution in self-government and human freedom. But even though the political bonds between the United States and Great Britain were dissolved; forever, they thought, on July 4th, 1776, the more powerful strands of memory, culture, and identity, proved unbreakable in any conflict, and grew into a friendship unlike any other on Earth. A very, very special and incredible friendship. Historians have noted that to this day, the distinct regions of the United States still echo with the particular accents, habits, and traditions of the British communities that first settled them centuries ago. The names of half of the original American states refer to members of the British Royal Family, as do American cities from Charleston, to Annapolis, Charlotte to Albany, and even the place where I grew up and actually loved very much, Queens, New York. But far beyond names and principals, there's something unique and very special that has always united our two people. A certain nobility of spirit and heroic soul. The same audacity that called a small island kingdom to rule the seven seas, and rule them you did, inspired the children of thirteen American colonies, to explore a great frontier, and a very, very dangerous frontier, and settle what was known as the wild, wild, west. The men who planted the American Flga on the Moon carried with them the same hunger for adventure and achievement, as those who raised the Union Jack above Antarctica, and first sailed St. George's Cross all around the globe. The American soldiers who crossed the Atlantic to freedom, rescue, in 1944, were moved by the same keen sense of righteousness that drove the English crusaders to the Holy Land a thousand years ago. The entire world has been uplifted by this distinct and special character that we share. This unstoppable daring, this unconquerable courage, this inexhaustible supply of ambition, ingenuity, and resolve. From the trenches of World War I, to the beaches of Normandy, from the frozen hills of Korea, to the scorching sands of North Africa and the Middle East, our countries have stood together, defiant and triumphant, against the forces of communism, fascism, and tyranny. Together we have expanded the reaches of human knowledge, and endeavored always, to make this world safer, more prosperous, more just, and more free. Ours is a treasured friendship, an eternal bond, and a true story of extraordinary heroism and skill. History has known no more powerful force than the combination of American Patriotism and British Pride. The British Empire that began here in America, certainly did not end here. The sons and daughters of the British Isles went on to found more countries and spread more civilization than any nation before. They built an English-speaking world upon which the Sun Never Sets, and provided an example to which free people will always turn. Today, most of Britain's former colonies have no idea of what they truly owe to this towering legacy of law, liberty, and British custom that they were given. Tonight on the eve of our two hundred and fiftieth year of cherished independence, we turn to the sovereign embodiment of our British Heritage, and say sincerely, thank you, to our friends, the United Kingdom, for the richest inheritance that any nation has ever given to any other. May our two countries stand together, forever, for liberty, for justice, and for the Glory of God.