Michael Bates, OBE, Her Majesty’s Consul General, spoke to the World Affairs Council recently. A veteran diplomat with service in India, USSR, Singapore, Belgium, Latvia, and Slovakia, Bates now serves the Southeastern US from Atlanta.

The US and the UK have a special relationship, Bates said, economically, strategically, and politically. They are each other’s best trading partner, and both economies are growing.

The UK has an unparalleled global understanding. The British experience and understanding is being shared with its daughter, the US. An example is the inside knowledge the US receives from the UK’s long firsthand experience in North Korea, Iran, and Libya.

Bates stated that Prime Minister Tony Blair was in Washington last week to promote the UK’s international agenda. Britain has placed priority on climate change and Africa, two items Bush is ignoring. Blair told Bush that global warming is a fact, and the US is the world’s largest polluter. He also pointed out the need for humanitarian, democratic, and educational assistance to the stabilizing nations of Africa.

On the question of “Who will be king?” Bates answered, “There is currently no vacancy. The queen is strong and healthy…and Charles is first in line.”