King gives Trump Royal Welcome on UK State Visit

AFP/APP

Windsor, United Kingdom: Donald Trump was treated to a sumptuous royal banquet at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, rounding off the first full day of his historic second state visit to Britain.

Before some 160 guests at the lavish event, designed to appeal to the mercurial US president’s taste for pomp and pageantry, King Charles III hailed Trump’s “personal commitment” to seeking peace.

Trump, for his part, called the visit “one of the highest honours of my life,” likening the UK-US bond to “two notes in one chord… each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together.”

Pomp and Ceremony

Earlier, Trump and First Lady Melania received a lavish welcome featuring gun salutes, soldiers on horseback, and a Red Arrows flypast. The King joined Trump in reviewing troops in a ceremony that officials said was the largest guard of honour mounted for a state visit in living memory.

Some 120 horses and 1,300 soldiers, clad in red tunics and gold-plumed helmets, lined the Windsor estate. Trump and Charles shared laughs as they inspected the troops before proceeding in a black-and-gold coach escorted by cavalry.

The couple were greeted on arrival by Prince William and his wife Catherine, who accompanied them to meet Charles and Queen Camilla. A 41-gun salute echoed across Windsor’s east lawn and the Tower of London simultaneously.

The royals gifted Trump a book marking the upcoming 250th anniversary of US independence, while Trump presented Charles with a replica of President Dwight Eisenhower’s sword.

Kept from Public Eye

Despite the grandeur, the president was kept away from the British public amid his continued unpopularity in opinion polls. Thousands of protesters marched through central London, waving Palestinian flags and banners reading “Migrants welcome, Trump not welcome.”

“I’m just scared of the way the world’s being taken over by really nasty men,” said Jo Williamson, a 58-year-old funeral director from Kent.

Trump laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted him during his first state visit in 2019, and viewed historic US-related artifacts, including Abraham Lincoln’s 1862 letter to Queen Victoria. He and Melania also held a private meeting with William and Catherine, described by Kensington Palace as “warm and friendly.”

Diplomacy and tension

Trump, the first US president to receive two British state visits, is being courted with royal soft power as Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to keep him onside amid multiple international crises.

Starmer will host Trump Thursday at Chequers, his country residence, with the two leaders buoyed by announcements of multi-billion-pound investments in both economies, including by Google and GSK.

But awkward moments loom. Starmer is facing political turmoil after sacking UK ambassador to Washington Peter Mandelson over ties to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a figure casting shadows over both British and American politics.

Trump too is under pressure at home, rocked by the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk and ongoing controversies over his foreign policy unpredictability, from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza.

“A lot of things here warm my heart,” Trump said on arrival, referencing his Scottish heritage and family ties to the UK.