After our livestream on Tuesday, I realized I’m still very much wrapping my head around this whole “living under a monarchy” situation. And then King Charles casually shows up in the US this week and suddenly this is my entire personality. I’m Googling lineage charts. I’m saying things like “soft power” out loud. I’m becoming… that American.

So let’s talk about the five things that shocked me most about the British monarchy this week — sprinkled with a few moments where I, an American, had to sit down and drink water.

1. It’s in places Americans absolutely do not expect

Coins. Postboxes. Stamps. Random government buildings. The occasional park bench. The monarchy is everywhere — not in a dramatic, Game-of-Thrones “bend the knee” way, but in a “surprise! here’s Charles III staring at you from your loose change” way.

You walk around and the royal cyphers are just… ambient. Americans put presidents on things, sure, but the British have turned the royal brand into a level of omnipresence that feels borderline subliminal. At this point I’m expecting to open my fridge and see a tiny ERII emblem on the milk.

2. The UK tone vs the US tone

One thing I’ve learned: Americans have opinions about the monarchy. Loud ones. Extreme ones. Explosive ones.The UK, meanwhile, maintains an emotional frequency best described as “ambient neutrality.”

Americans: “Abolish the monarchy!” or “I would die for this royal wedding!”Brits: “Well, they’re there. I suppose.”

It’s like political ASMR.

3. Ceremonies that feel current, not historical

In America, we reenact history. We dress someone up like George Washington, hand a kid a fake quill, and call it a day.

The UK? They continue history. The uniforms, the regalia, the ceremonies — they aren’t reenactments. They’re the actual operating system of the country. Watching it feels like accidentally wandering onto a movie set, except everyone is deadly serious and the horses have better résumés than I do.

4. The emotional side (yes, really)

I didn’t expect this, but the monarchy actually moves the collective mood. When something big happens — a coronation, a speech, a health update — you can feel the national atmosphere shift slightly, like someone adjusted the country’s thermostat.

Americans don’t have a shared emotional barometer like this. Our closest equivalent is maybe the Super Bowl, but that mostly just shifts the mood from “regular chaos” to “chaos with snacks.”

5. The contradiction

“We rejected monarchy… but watch royal weddings like they’re the Super Bowl.”Truly the American condition.

We love independence. We love liberty. We love telling Britain they can’t boss us around.

And yet, if Prince William sneezes, we’re all refreshing news alerts like absolute hypocrites.

Bonus: King Charles Pulled Off Diplomacy-as-Performance-Art This Week

Because we have to talk about what just happened in Washington.

King Charles delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress — the first British monarch to do it in 35 years — and he played the Americans like a Stradivarius. He joked about Washington and King George (“a tale of two Georges”), teased that he wasn’t launching a covert redo of the Revolutionary War, and then glided straight into the serious stuff: Ukraine, climate, judicial independence, global cooperation.

And he did it with the kind of diplomatic elegance where he said everything while technically saying nothing inflammatory. Except, of course, he did say provocative things — just wrapped so neatly in velvet language that you didn’t realize it until afterward.

Every point he made subtly contradicted Trump’s policies. And Trump? He loved it. Jealous, even. The man being corrected didn’t notice he was being corrected. That’s not politics — that’s wizardry.

One analyst put it best: Charles was trying to “reorient Trump.” Fourteen European leaders couldn’t do it. The UK government hasn’t managed it. But a king in white tie with a submarine bell engraved “Trump 1944”? That got through.

Whether it works long-term is anyone’s guess. But as a piece of geopolitical performance art? A solid ten.

Final Thought: Living Under a Monarchy Is Doing Something to Me

I’m not buying commemorative plates (yet). But there is something undeniably fascinating — and occasionally reassuring — about an institution trained for centuries specifically to handle moments like this.

It’s weird. It’s contradictory. It’s occasionally hilarious. But I’m starting to get it.

That’s the most shocking thing of all.

Want to share your thoughts? Let me know in the comments below! And for more discussions on cultural differences, consider joining the MandyVerse Collective. Because life is always better when you're there! 💝

Visit @TheHicksonDiaries on YouTube for deeper thoughts and more videos about my life as an American in the UK.