The UK rolled out its finest pageantry for Donald Trump as the King and Queen welcomed the US president at the start of his historic – and controversial – second state visit.
The Prince and Princess of Wales also formed part of the royal charm offensive at Windsor Castle for the president, who has made no secret of how flattered he is by having traditional British pomp laid on for him.
Mr Trump was treated to a gilded horse-drawn carriage ride through the vast Windsor estate and joined the King in inspecting honour guards. Officials said 1,300 members of the military took part in the largest formal welcome for a state visit to the UK in living memory.
But Mr Trump had kept the royal family waiting for the greeting, with his Marine One helicopter – fitted with missile defence and radar jamming systems – landing in the castle grounds 20 minutes late, at 12.14pm.
The King, Queen William and Kate greeted the American leader and First Lady Melania Trump outside Victoria House, a little-known property at Frogmore on the private Windsor estate.
The Princess of Wales gave Mr Trump a broad smile as they shook hands, with the president appearing to tell her: “You’re so beautiful, so beautiful.” Mr Trump and the King chatted enthusiastically as the president placed his hand on Charles’s arm as they shook hands.
The setting of Victoria House, never used for an incoming state visit in modern times, was just one of several flourishes used to impress the controversial billionaire-turned-politician, who has vaunted his friendship with the King and Queen and revealed that he wanted photographs of himself with the royals to be seen worldwide.
Camilla rallied to attend the first engagement of the key diplomatic royal duty after pulling out of the Duchess of Kent’s funeral on Tuesday due to acute sinusitis.
The Trumps will stay overnight on Wednesday in the 1,000-year-old castle as guests of the King and Queen, after the couples exchanged gifts.
The scale and spectacle of the military pageantry on show for Mr Trump was unprecedented. Lining the carriage procession route through the private Windsor estate to the castle were 22 half-companies of personnel from the Royal Navy, the Royal Marines, the British Army and the Royal Air Force, with 120 horses.
The Trumps joined the King and Queen and the prince and princess for the scenic carriage ride through the green parkland to the castle, accompanied by a colourful Sovereign’s Escort of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment.
Inside the castle, a lunch with members of the royal family was laid on in the State Dining Room, and the president will be the guest of honour at a lavish white-tie banquet at the castle later.
The Prince and Princess of Wales then met President Trump and the First Lady for a short private meeting, Kensington Palace said.
In the afternoon, the Trumps visited St George’s Chapel in Windsor, the final resting place of the late Queen, who hosted them in 2019, to lay a wreath. Before entering, the president pumped his fist at reporters waiting outside.
After a brief tour of the chapel, during which the couple saw Henry VIII’s vault and Sir Winston Churchill’s stall plate denoting his membership of the Order of the Garter, Mr Trump said: “This was a great honour.”
A flypast of four military jets – two British and two US jets – that had been due to take place over Windsor Castle has been cancelled because of poor weather. It would have been the first time US and UK aircraft have flown together for such a visit.
But a display by the Red Arrows is still due to happen.
On Thursday, the president will hold talks with Sir Keir Starmer at Chequers, with his wife, Lady Victoria – just days after the prime minister sacked the UK’s ambassador to the US, Lord Mandelson, over his links to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Sir Keir had already faced political turmoil in his government for two weeks following the sacking of Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister over her failure to pay the right amount of tax on her second home.
The government is particularly keen to impress the president, hoping to secure favourable trade terms with the UK’s largest single economic partner.
Mr Trump has previously hinted at possible tariff relief on UK steel. “They’d like to see if they can get a little bit better deal, so we’ll talk to them,” he said before his visit.
However, it emerged on Tuesday that efforts to slash the levy to zero have been put on ice.
There are no public-facing elements during Mr Trump’s engagements, with security paramount for the 47th US president, who has faced two assassination attempts in just over a year, and following the killing of his ally Charlie Kirk.
But thousands of people were taking part in large-scale protests against his two-day stay. Demonstrators gathered to march through central London, followed by a rally in Parliament Square at 5pm.
There was a heavy police presence, and chants of “Donald Trump, you’re a clown – you’re not welcome in our town”.
Four people were arrested over pictures of Donald Trump and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein that were projected onto Windsor Castle.
On Tuesday night, climate protesters disrupted a gala dinner by Republicans Overseas at Windsor Guildhall.
