Origins '' transported the
Pilgrims to the New World in 1620, as depicted in
William Halsall's
The Mayflower in Plymouth Sound, 1882. After several failed attempts, the first permanent English settlement in mainland North America was established in 1607 at
Jamestown in the
Virginia. In 1630, the
Puritans established the
Massachusetts Bay Colony; they emphasised not only pure religiosity, but also education and entrepreneurship. Smaller colonies followed throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries. Each colony reported separately to London. During British colonization, liberal administrative, juridical, and market institutions were introduced. The colonial period also saw the introduction of
indentured servitude and
slavery. British
mercantilist policies became more stringent, benefiting the mother country, which resulted in trade restrictions. Tensions escalated from 1765 to 1775 over issues of taxation without any American representation in Parliament. Congress unanimously
declared independence in July 1776, formally initiating the
Revolutionary War. The British managed to control New York City and parts of the South, but 90% of the American population was controlled by the Patriots. The entry of the French and Spanish decisively hurt British efforts. The
Treaty of Paris ended the war in 1783, and the United States of America became the first colony in the world to successfully achieve independence in the modern era.
War of 1812 The two nations fought again in the
War of 1812. Neither side prevailed. The end of the war marked the end of a long period of conflict (1775–1815) and ushered in a new era of peace between the two nations. It was celebrated in the US as a victorious "second war of independence", while the British, having finally defeated Napoleon at the
Battle of Waterloo, celebrated that triumph and largely forgot their second war with the US.
American Civil War Relations verged on open conflict during the war, and remained chilly after it as Americans resented British and Canadian roles in their
Civil War. Both sides worked to make sure tensions did not escalate toward war. The arbitration of the Alabama Claims in 1872 provided a satisfactory reconciliation; The British paid the United States $15.5 million for the economic damage caused by
Confederate Navy warships purchased from it. The British also withdrew from their military and political responsibilities in North America, bringing home their troops from Canada (keeping
Halifax as an Atlantic naval base), and turning responsibility over to the locals; in 1867, the separate Canadian colonies unified into a self-governing confederation named the "
Dominion of Canada".
World Wars The Great Rapprochement saw the convergence of social and political objectives between London and Washington from 1895 until World War I began in 1914. During
World War I, the Americans planned to send money, food and munitions, but it soon became clear that millions of soldiers would be needed to decide the war on the
Western Front. Two million soldiers were sent to Europe, with more on the way as the war ended. Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, the level of mutual hostility was moderately high. The British diplomatic establishment largely distrusted the United States for a series of reasons. They included British suspicion of America's newfound global power, intentions, and reliability. Despite the frictions, London realized the United States was now the strongest power, and made it a cardinal principle of British foreign policy to "cultivate the closest relations with the United States". Although many of the American people were sympathetic to Britain during its
World War II conflict with
Nazi Germany, there was widespread opposition to American intervention in European affairs. But beginning in March 1941, the United States enacted
Lend-Lease in the form of tanks, fighter airplanes, munitions, bullets, food, and medical supplies. Britain received $31.4 billion out of a total of $50.1 billion sent to the Allies. Lend-lease aid was freely given, with no payments. There were also cash loans that were repaid at low rates over half a century. In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt announced the
Atlantic Charter at a meeting in Newfoundland. It became a fundamental document—All the Allies had to sign it—and it led to the formation of the
United Nations. Shortly after the
Pearl Harbor attack, Churchill spent several weeks in Washington with the senior staff hammering out wartime strategy with the American counterparts at the
Arcadia Conference. They set up the
Combined Chiefs of Staff to plot and coordinate strategy and operations. Military cooperation was close and successful. Technical collaboration was even closer, as the two nations shared secrets and weapons. Millions of American servicemen were based in Britain during the war. Americans were paid five times more than comparable British servicemen, which led to a certain amount of friction with British men.
Cold War In the aftermath of the war, Britain faced a deep financial crisis, whereas the United States enjoyed an economic boom. The United States continued to finance the British treasury after the war. Much of this aid was designed to restore infrastructure and help refugees. Britain received an
emergency loan of $3.75 billion in 1946; it was a 50-year loan with a low 2% interest rate. A more permanent solution was the
Marshall Plan of 1948–51, which poured $13 billion into western Europe, of which $3.3 billion went to Britain to help modernise its infrastructure and business practices. The aid was a gift and carried requirements that Britain balance its budget, control tariffs, and maintain adequate currency reserves. In
British Malaya, the British colonialists got American aid in the
war against the communist independence movement (1948-1960). The need to form a united front against the Soviet threat compelled the US and Britain to cooperate in helping to form the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization with their European allies. NATO is a mutual defence alliance whereby an attack on one member country is deemed an attack on all members. The
Suez Crisis erupted in October 1956 after Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt to regain control of the Suez Canal. Eisenhower had repeatedly warned London against any such action and feared a collapse of Western influence and the risk of a wider war in the region. Washington responded with heavy financial and diplomatic pressure to force the invaders to withdraw. When it became clear that the international sanctions were serious, the invaders withdrew in consideration of the very sizeable British post-war debt. The world noted Britain's fall from status in the Middle East and worldwide, and Anglo-American cooperation fell to the lowest point since the 1890s. However, the new prime minister
Harold Macmillan (1957–1963) restored good terms with Eisenhower and President
John F. Kennedy (1961–1963). Throughout the 1980s, Thatcher was strongly supportive of Reagan's unwavering stance towards the Soviet Union. Often described as "political soulmates" and a high point in the "
Special Relationship", Reagan and Thatcher met many times throughout their political careers.
Post-Cold War When the United States became the world's lone superpower after the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, new threats emerged that confronted the United States and its
NATO allies. With military build-up beginning in August 1990 and the use of force beginning in January 1991, the United States, followed at a distance by Britain, provided the two largest forces respectively for the coalition army which liberated
Kuwait from
Saddam Hussein's regime during the
Persian Gulf War. In the
1997 general election, the
British Labour Party was elected to office for the first time in eighteen years. The new prime minister,
Tony Blair, and
Bill Clinton both used the expression "
Third Way" to describe their centre-left ideologies. In August 1997, the American people expressed solidarity with the British people, sharing in their grief and sense of shock on the
death of Diana, Princess of Wales, who perished in a car crash in Paris. Throughout 1998 and 1999, the United States and Britain sent troops to impose peace during the
Kosovo War. Tony Blair made it a point to develop very close relationships with the White House.
War on terror and Iraq War and
George W. Bush at a press conference in the
White House on November 12, 2004 Sixty-seven Britons were among the
2,977 victims killed during the terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center and elsewhere on
September 11, 2001.
Al-Qaeda was the attacker. Following the attacks, there was an enormous outpouring of sympathy from the United Kingdom for the American people, and Blair was one of Bush's strongest international supporters for military action against
Al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Indeed, Blair became the most articulate spokesman. President Bush told Congress that "America has no truer friend than Great Britain". The United States declared a
war on terror following the attacks. British forces participated in NATO's
war in Afghanistan. Blair took the lead (against the opposition of France, Canada, Germany, China, and Russia) in advocating the
invasion of Iraq in 2003. Again, Britain was second only to the US in sending forces to Iraq. Both sides wound down after 2009 and withdrew their last troops in 2011. President Bush and Prime Minister Blair provided sustained mutual political and diplomatic support and won votes in Congress and parliament against their critics at home. During this period, Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld said that "America has no finer ally than the United Kingdom." The
7 July 2005 London bombings emphasised the difference in the terrorist threat to both nations. Terrorism against the United States and its military assets was primarily committed by foreign groups, like the
al-Qaeda network and other Islamic extremists from the Middle East. The London bombings were carried out by homegrown extremist Muslims, and they emphasised the United Kingdom's threat from the radicalisation of its own people. After claims by
Liberty those British airports had been used by the
CIA for
extraordinary rendition flights, the
Association of Chief Police Officers launched an investigation in November 2005. The report was published in June 2007 and found no evidence to support the claim. This was on the same day the Council of Europe released its report with evidence that the UK had colluded in extraordinary rendition, thus directly contradicting ACPO's findings. A 2018 report by the
Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament found the United Kingdom, specifically the
MI5 and
MI6, to be complicit in many of the renditions done by the US, having helped fund them, supplying them with intelligence and knowingly allowing them to happen. By 2007, support amongst the British public for the Iraq war had plummeted. Despite Tony Blair's historically low approval ratings with the British people, mainly due to allegations of faulty government intelligence of Iraq possessing
weapons of mass destruction, his unapologetic and unwavering stance for the British alliance with the United States can be summed up in his own words. He said, "We should remain the closest ally of the US... not because they are powerful, but because we share their values." The alliance between
George W. Bush and Tony Blair seriously damaged the prime minister's standing in the eyes of many
British citizens. Tony Blair argued it was in the United Kingdom's interest to "protect and strengthen the bond" with the United States regardless of who is in the White House. A perception that the relationship was unequal led to use of the term "Poodle-ism" in the British media, that Britain and its leaders were lapdogs to the Americans. On June 11, 2009, the
British Overseas Territory of
Bermuda accepted four
Chinese Uighurs from the American detainment facility at the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. All had been captured during the
United States-led invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. This decision angered London, as British officials felt they should have been consulted.
Tension with Scotland ,
Alex Salmond, (left) was heavily criticised by Washington regarding the Scottish Government's decision to release
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. On August 20, 2009, the
Scottish Government, headed by
First Minister Alex Salmond, announced that it would release
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi on medical grounds. He was the only person convicted in the terrorist plot which killed 190 Americans and 43 Britons on
Pan American Worldways' Flight 103 over the town of
Lockerbie, Scotland on December 21, 1988. He was sentenced to life in prison in 2001, but was now released after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, with around three months to live. Americans said the decision was uncompassionate and insensitive to the memory of the victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing. President
Barack Obama said that the decision was "highly objectionable". US Ambassador
Louis Susman said that although the decision made by Scotland was extremely regrettable, relations with the United Kingdom would remain fully intact and strong. The British government, led by Prime Minister
Gordon Brown, was not involved in the release and Prime Minister Brown stated at a press conference his government had played 'no role' in the Scottish decision, as responsibility for
Scots law and justice in Scotland is the full responsibility of the Scottish Government. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi died May 20, 2012, at the age of 60. The decision from the Scottish Government to release Abdelbaset al-Megrahi was defended by First Minister Alex Salmond, who said that he was released "in good faith" after the Scottish Government received "expert advice" which advised that al-Megrahi had only three months to live. Salmond claimed that the advice had been presented to the Scottish Government by Dr Andrew Fraser, the head of medical services for the
Scottish Prison Service, who Salmond described as "a physician of great experience and a man with personal integrity".
Present status welcomed President
Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama to
Buckingham Palace on April 1, 2009. British policy is that the relationship with the United States represents the United Kingdom's "most important bilateral relationship" in the world. John Dumbrell wrote in 2006:
Obama administration 2009–2017 , and President
Barack Obama meet at the White House in March 2009 On March 3, 2009,
Gordon Brown made his first visit to the
White House. During his visit, he presented the president a gift in the form of a pen holder carved from
HMS Gannet, which served anti-slavery missions off the coast of Africa.
Barack Obama's gift to the prime minister was a box of 25 DVDs with movies including
Star Wars and
E.T. The wife of the prime minister,
Sarah Brown, gave the Obama daughters, Sasha and Malia, two dresses from British clothing retailer
Topshop, and a few unpublished books that have not reached the United States.
Michelle Obama gave the prime minister's sons two
Marine One helicopter toys. During this visit to the United States, Gordon Brown made an address to a joint session of the
United States Congress, a privilege rarely accorded to foreign heads of government. In March 2009, a
Gallup poll of Americans showed 36% identified Britain as their country's "most valuable ally", followed by Canada, Japan, Israel, and Germany rounding out the top five. The poll also indicated that 89% of Americans view the United Kingdom favourably, second only to Canada with 90%. In 2010, Obama stated, "The United States has no closer friend and ally than the United Kingdom, and I reiterated my deep and personal commitment to the special relationship between our two countries." In February 2011,
The Daily Telegraph, based on evidence from
WikiLeaks, reported that the United States had tendered sensitive information about the
British Trident nuclear arsenal (whose missile delivery systems are manufactured and maintained in the United States) to the
Russian Federation as part of a deal to encourage Russia to ratify the
New START Treaty. Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the
Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies speculated that serial numbers could undermine Britain's non-verification policy by providing Russia "with another data point to gauge the size of the British arsenal". On May 25, 2011, during his official visit to the UK, Obama reaffirmed the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States of America in an address to Parliament at
Westminster Hall. Amongst other points, Obama stated: "I've come here today to reaffirm one of the oldest, one of the strongest alliances the World has ever known. It's long been said that the United States and the United Kingdom share a special relationship." In the final days before the
Scottish independence referendum in September 2014, Obama announced in public the vested interest of the United States of America in enjoying the continued partnership with a 'strong and united' UK which he described as "one of the closest allies we will ever have". In 2015,
GCHQ notified the US of
links between Trump associates and Russian officials. During a joint press conference with Prime Minister
Theresa May, Obama stated, "The bottom line is, is that we don't have a stronger partner anywhere in the world than the United Kingdom."
First Trump administration 2017–2021 and President
Donald Trump meet at the White House in January 2017 at
Windsor Castle for the arrival of
Queen Elizabeth II and President Trump in July 2018 President
Donald Trump and British Prime Minister
Theresa May aimed to continue the United Kingdom–United States special relationship. May was the first foreign leader Trump hosted in Washington after taking office and
UKIP leader
Nigel Farage was the first foreign politician Trump met with after winning the
presidential election, when he was still
President-elect. However, Trump was the subject of popular protests in Britain even before he took office, particularly because of his
anti-immigration proposals, misogyny and
racism. During his presidency there were protests when he was inaugurated, when he announced his first
immigration ban on citizens from certain Muslim countries, and when he said he would
recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. On June 4, 2017, Trump responded to a
terror attack on London Bridge by attacking London Mayor
Sadiq Khan for saying that there "was no reason to be alarmed". The comments were condemned by Khan, who stated that his remarks were deliberately taken out of context in that he was referring to an increased police presence in the days after the attack, which should not alarm the public. Trump also suggested that, "we must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people". On November 29, 2017, Trump re-tweeted three videos posted by
Jayda Fransen, deputy leader of the far-right nationalist
Britain First party. One of the videos, titled 'Muslim immigrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches', was subsequently discredited by the Dutch embassy in the United States. The spokesperson for the Prime Minister said that what the President had done was 'wrong' and Foreign Secretary
Boris Johnson said that 'hate speech had no place in the UK'. In response, Trump tweeted at the Prime Minister, suggesting that she worry about immigration in her own country rather than whom he chose to retweet. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said that the President attempted to start a conversation about immigration. May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his inauguration, and she invited him to make a return visit. More than 1.8 million UK citizens signed a petition to rescind the invitation, and Parliament debated a nonbinding resolution to that effect in February 2017. The visit was tentatively planned for late February 2018, and would include a ceremonial opening of the
new American embassy in
Nine Elms. However, on January 11, 2018, he cancelled the visit and denounced the new embassy in a tweet saying: This was despite the official reason for relocating the embassy due to the security, as the
Grosvenor Square site couldn't accommodate the requirements for being away from the street, and the fact that the move was decided by Obama's predecessor
Bush, who approved the relocation in 2008. It was speculated that the real reason for cancelling the visit was due to Trump's unpopularity and the possibility of large protests against him in London. Trump made a
second visit in June 2019, this time as guests of the Queen and to hold talks with May. Thousands protested his visit, just like they did when he made his first trip. with President
Donald Trump in September 2019 On July 7, 2019, secret diplomatic cables from Ambassador
Kim Darroch to the British government, dating from 2017 to 2019, were leaked to
The Mail on Sunday. They included Darroch's unflattering assessments of the Trump administration, e.g. that it was "inept and insecure". In response, Nigel Farage said Darroch was "totally unsuitable" for office, and Trump tweeted that Darroch was "not liked or well thought of within the US" and that "we will no longer deal with him". The Prime Minister, Theresa May, expressed support for Darroch and ordered a leak inquiry. On July 10, Darroch resigned as Ambassador to the United States. He wrote that "the current situation is making it impossible for me to carry out my role as I would like". May and the leader of the opposition,
Jeremy Corbyn, praised Darroch's service in the House of Commons and deplored that he had to resign under pressure from the US.
Controversy over American foods In 2017, US President
Donald Trump appointed pharmaceutical heir
Woody Johnson, a financial supporter of his campaign, as ambassador 2017–2021. Johnson advocated for more agricultural trade and the deregulation of US food exports to Britain. In March 2019, Johnson wrote an article in the
Daily Telegraph promoting American chlorinated chicken as safe, and stating that health fears over hormone-fed beef were "myths". This came after he urged the UK to open up to the US agriculture market after the British exit from the European Union and ignore the "smear campaign" of those with "their own protectionist agenda". Johnson was criticised by several British agriculture standard boards, such as the Red Tractor Assurance whose CEO, Jim Moseley stated the UK's food standards were "now under threat from ... the United States food lobby". Minette Batters, president of the UK National Farmers Union, agreed with Johnson's claims that chlorine-rinsed chicken was safe for consumption, but stated that factors such as animal welfare and environmental protection also had to be considered. George Eustace, former British agriculture minister, told the press:Agriculture in the US remains quite backward in many respects....Whereas we have a 'farm to fork' approach to managing disease and contamination risk throughout the supply chain through good husbandry, the US is more inclined to simply treat contamination of its meat at the end with a chlorine or similar wash.
Blocking Chinese technology In 2020, while the UK was planning to invest in new
5G mobile telecommunications equipment, Washington was openly lobbying and pressuring the British government, to prevent allowing the Chinese telecommunications giant
Huawei from installing its equipment in the UK. This was over allegations it will allow the Chinese to espionage in the country, and this might be a break in the
Five Eyes intelligence programme. Since 2003, the UK has allowed its telecoms operators, such as the incumbent
BT, to install Huawei equipment in its infrastructure backbone. To prevent any concerns about possible hacking after reports of unusual activity in the Huawei equipment, in 2010 Huawei jointly created with the British intelligence agency
GCHQ an equipment investigate centre in the outskirts of
Banbury called the
Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre which is also known by its nickname
"the Cell". In July 2020 after American pressure, the British government announced that it has banned adding any new Huawei telecoms equipment into the British
landline and
mobile networks, and request that all companies replace the existing equipment by 2027.
Biden administration 2021–2025 and President
Joe Biden meet at the
White House in September 2021 Biden's first overseas trip and first face-to-face meeting with a British Prime Minister was at the
2021 G7 Summit, hosted in
Cornwall, England, in June. Johnson stated "there's so much that [the US] want to do together" with us. The first meeting between the two leaders included plans to re-establish travel links between the US and UK, which had been banned by the US since the start of the pandemic and to agree a deal (the
New Atlantic Charter), which commits the countries to working together on "the key challenges of this century - cyber security, emerging technologies, global health and climate change". President Biden explicitly "affirmed the special relationship". The revitalized Atlantic Charter would build "on the commitments and aspirations set out eighty years ago" and also "reaffirm" the "commitment to work together to realise our vision for a more peaceful and prosperous future." with President Biden in
New York City, September 2022 The chaotic
withdrawal from Afghanistan and
fall of Kabul in August 2021 hurt United Kingdom–United States relations, with the British government briefing media against the American government. with President Biden in the
Oval Office, June 2023
AUKUS On September 15, 2021, the leaders of the US, the UK, and Australia announced "AUKUS":a new security partnership in the Indo-Pacific, building on the longstanding alliance between the three to share intelligence, deepen cooperation, and help Australia build a new nuclear-powered submarine to counter China. at the
2024 Washington summit Rejection of new trade agreement On September 21, 2021,
Boris Johnson stated that he would not commit to a new trade agreement by 2024, stating that President Biden has "a lot of fish to fry."
Second Trump administration 2025–present On May 8, 2025, the UK and US announced an agreement in principle on an Economic Prosperity Deal, paving the way for renewed negotiations. According to a POLITICO-Public First poll conducted in April 2025, the vast majority of American and British adults support their governments reaching an agreement, but less than a third of respondents in the UK and 44% of Americans said they believe President Donald Trump will stick to it. and First Lady
Melania Trump with
King Charles III and
Queen Camilla at
Windsor Castle, 2025 In September 2025, President Trump made his
second official state visit to the United Kingdom, staying at
Windsor Castle and later meeting Prime Minister
Keir Starmer at
Chequers. In November 2025, sources told
CNN that the UK had suspended
intelligence sharing with the US
about suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean over the risks of being complicit in fatal US military strikes on the vessels, which the UK reportedly believes are illegal. On 24 December 2025, the US State Department issued travel bans on two British individuals,
Imran Ahmed of the
Center for Countering Digital Hate and
Clare Melford of the
Global Disinformation Index, stating they "have led organized efforts to coerce American platforms to punish American viewpoints they oppose". In January 2026, the U.S. under President Donald Trump expressed
renewed desire in annexing Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of
Denmark, prompting UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to say the United Kingdom opposed any change to Greenland's status absent Greenlandic and Danish consent. The UK also joined
Operation Arctic Endurance, a military operation in Greenland, to counter the crisis. Trump later backed away from tariff threats and ruled out taking Greenland by force. The UK also declined to join Trump's proposed international "
Board of Peace" initiative, citing legal concerns and reservations about possible participation by Russian president
Vladimir Putin. The British government declined to voice support the
2026 U.S. strikes on Iran while also not condemning them. The UK did not permit the U.S. to use British military bases for the attack, including
RAF Fairford and the military bases
on Diego Garcia. According to a 2026 Gallup poll, 76% of Americans have favorable opinions of the United Kingdom, while 18% have an unfavorable opinion. This was the lowest on record, as well as down from 88% in 2025. It was largely driven by a drop in favorability of the UK among Republicans, whose favorability of the country dropped from 84% in 2025 to 64% in 2026. On 24 April 2026, Reuters reported that a leaked internal Pentagon communication indicated that the United States was considering reviewing its support for the United Kingdom’s sovereignty claim over the
Falkland Islands as a potential retaliatory measure against NATO allies, including Britain, for their limited support in
the war with Iran. The British government stated in response that "sovereignty rests with the UK and the islanders' right to self-determination is paramount." == Trade, investment, and the economy ==