Charles: Executive power is 'subject to checks & balances'

King Charles III stressed the principle that executive power is "subject to checks and balances," a vital part of the United States' constitutional government, during an address to Congress on Tuesday.

"The Founding Fathers were bold and imaginative rebels with a cause," he said. "They declared independence by balancing contending forces and drawing strength in diversity."

Charles noted that the Founding Fathers borrowed ideas from, among other places, the Magna Carta. The document, first issued in 1215, was foundational to English law and stated that the monarch and his government were subject to the rule of law.

"The U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances," he said.

Charles was the first British monarch to address Congress since his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1991.

Tuesday was the second day of Charles and Queen Camilla's four-day U.S. visit, which is meant to mark the 250th anniversary of America's independence from Great Britain.

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