Will King's US visit make a political difference?

The jokes landed, the warm words resonated, the pageantry looked good on the evening news.

But as the applause fades and the plates are cleared from the White House banquet, what from the King's historic visit to the United States will sustain? How much of the pomp will translate into politics?

Before King Charles arrived in the US, British diplomats were pragmatic about how much the state visit could achieve. They knew it could not reset the UK-US relationship entirely. The differences over Iran, Nato, Ukraine, trade and President Donald Trump's rhetorical barbs against Sir Keir Starmer were too deep to be overcome by one royal tour.

Diplomats hoped instead the visit could at the very least change the tone and lower the temperature between London and Washington.

Sir David Manning, a former UK ambassador to the US, told the BBC before the trip the King was "a stabiliser, a shock absorber" who could "provide a better climate for re-engaging with the Trump administration over some of the very difficult bilateral issues".

To that end, the King may have achieved his task.

With a charm and humour that many British politicians would envy, he used his two speeches to praise the US, its people and its leaders in a way that perhaps only an outsider could venture.

His gift for the president of an "HMS Trump" ship's bell was a masterstroke of deft diplomacy.

And before an audience that is so polarised, the King gently reminded Americans of where they came from and what united them as a nation. He spoke of "the living mosaic of the United States", praising it and the UK both as "vibrant, diverse and free societies".

The Republican senator and Trump supporter, Lindsey Graham, said the King had given a "much needed morale boost" for US politicians.

"Most members of Congress feel better after the speech than they did before," he said on social media. "I will admit it was a bit odd that the unifying feeling had to come from the King of England… but so be it!"

The King's second task was to try to pour some oil on turbulent political waters across the Atlantic.

He went about this by making a virtue of past differences, saying the strength of the relationship was demonstrated by its ability to overcome disagreements.

"Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it," he told Congress. "We can perhaps agree that we do not always agree."

With such words, the King was attempting to frame the current diplomatic rows in a broader, historical context. The hope among British diplomats is that idea will sink in.

Then His Majesty cut to the chase.

Amid the self-deprecating humour and romp through history, the King landed some hard arguments.

Nato, he said, had not only supported the US "shoulder to shoulder" after the 9/11 attacks, it also helps us "meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and contested world".