The Special Relationship, a term used to describe relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, first came into popular usage following a 1946 speech by former UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Among major world powers, the military co-operation, intelligence sharing, and trade between the UK and US has been described as “unparalleled”. Both have been close allies in global conflicts including World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the war on terror.
The personal close relationships between UK and US heads of government, including that between Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan and later between Tony Blair and both Bill Clinton and George W. Bush have been cited as popular evidence of the special relationship. At the diplomatic level, characteristics include recurring public representations of the relationship as “special”, frequent and high-profile political visits and extensive information exchange at the diplomatic working level.
Some deny the existence of a “special relationship” and call it a myth. During the 1956 Suez Crisis, US president Dwight Eisenhower threatened to bankrupt the pound sterling due to Britain’s invasion of Egypt. Thatcher privately opposed the 1983 US invasion of Grenada, and Reagan unsuccessfully initially pressured against the 1982 Falklands War and refused to offer US military support to the UK. Former US President Barack Obama described German Chancellor Angela Merkel as his “closest international partner”, while incumbent US President Donald Trump described the relationship in 2026 as “not what it was [before]”, following the UK’s initial response to US strikes on Iran. Others have argued that the UK is either now or becoming a vassal or client state of the US sometimes being referred to as the 51st state of the US.
Although the “Special Relationship” between the UK and the US was perhaps most memorably emphasized by Churchill, its existence and even the term itself had been recognized since the 19th century, not least by rival powers.
The American and British governments were enemies when foreign relations between them first began, after the Second Continental Congress, convening in Philadelphia and representing all Thirteen Colonies, unanimously declared their independence from British rule, which formalized the American Revolutionary War, which commenced the year before at the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Relations often continued to be strained until the mid-19th century, erupting into open conflict during the War of 1812 and again verging on war when Britain almost supported the separatist Confederate States during the beginning of the American Civil War.
US president Harry S. Truman’s Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, recalled, “Of course a unique relation existed between Britain and America—our common language and history ensured that. But unique did not mean affectionate. We had fought England as an enemy as often as we had fought by her side as an ally”.
on April 28th, 2026, King Charles came to the White House and participated in a ceremony with President Donald J. Trump for the 250th birthday celebration of U.S. independence from Britain, followed by giving a speech to Congress. The special relationship is stronger than ever.
