US President to meet King Charles for unprecedented royal ceremony with carriage procession and white-tie banquet whilst Queen recovers from acute sinusitis
Donald Trump will be welcomed to Windsor Castle this afternoon for an unprecedented second state visit to Britain, with Princess Kate and Prince William greeting the US President before a full ceremonial reception featuring military bands, gun salutes, and a carriage procession through the estate grounds.
The American leader, who landed at Stansted Airport on Tuesday evening with First Lady Melania Trump, becomes the first US President to receive two state visits from a British monarch. The extraordinary diplomatic gesture, orchestrated by Prime Minister Keir Starmer, comes as Britain seeks to strengthen ties with Washington amid ongoing trade negotiations and global security concerns.
Queen Camilla’s attendance at today’s ceremonies remains uncertain after Buckingham Palace confirmed she was forced to miss Monday’s funeral service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent, whilst recovering from acute sinusitis. The Palace stated the 78-year-old Queen is “still expected to be able to attend all the engagements” but her condition has raised concerns about her participation in the demanding schedule of events.
“With great regret, Her Majesty The Queen has withdrawn from attendance at this afternoon’s Requiem Mass for The Duchess of Kent as she is recovering from acute sinusitis,” Buckingham Palace announced on Monday. “Her thoughts and prayers will be with The Duke of Kent and all the family.”
The state visit begins in earnest this morning when the Trumps arrive at Windsor Castle to be greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales, who will escort them to meet King Charles and potentially Queen Camilla. A royal salute will be fired simultaneously from Windsor Castle’s East Lawn and the Tower of London, marking the formal commencement of ceremonies.
The President and First Lady will then join the King and Queen, alongside William and Kate, in a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the castle. The route will be lined by members of the Armed Forces, with three military bands from the Royal Marines, Army, and RAF providing musical accompaniment whilst the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment provides the escort.
I hate to say it, but nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and ceremony,” Trump remarked in July during a visit to Scotland, expressing his admiration for British royal traditions.
Following the procession, Trump will accompany King Charles to inspect the Guard of Honour, formed by the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, and Scots Guards, before attending a private lunch in the State Dining Room with extended members of the royal family. The visit represents a significant deployment of royal star power, with Kate’s involvement particularly notable as she continues her careful return to public duties.
This afternoon, the President will visit St George’s Chapel to privately pay his respects to Queen Elizabeth II and lay a wreath on her tomb. Trump, who met the late Queen during his first state visit in 2019, has frequently expressed his admiration for her, with former adviser Fiona Hill noting in her memoir that meeting Elizabeth II was “the ultimate sign that he, Trump, had made it in life.”
The centrepiece event comes this evening with a white-tie state banquet in St George’s Hall, where both King Charles and President Trump will deliver speeches beneath a ceiling decorated with the coats of arms of every Knight of the Garter since the order’s founding in the 14th century. Over 160 guests are expected to attend the lavish dinner, though Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has announced he will boycott the event in protest over Trump’s policies regarding Gaza.
The visit has already sparked controversy, with protesters unfurling a large banner featuring an image of Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein outside Windsor Castle on Sunday. Thames Valley Police confirmed four arrests were made following the incident, with authorities implementing what they describe as a “significant policing operation” similar in scale to the King’s coronation.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan published a scathing opinion piece coinciding with Trump’s arrival, accusing the President of employing tactics “straight out of the autocrat’s playbook,” including “scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting US citizens” and “deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities.”
The ceremonial welcome includes several unprecedented elements for a state visit, including a flypast by the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows aerobatic team alongside US F-35 military jets, and a “beating retreat” ceremony on Windsor Castle’s East Lawn. These additions reflect what royal experts describe as a calculated effort to appeal to Trump’s well-documented appreciation for military displays and pageantry.
“Being Trump, he’ll probably make some very amusing remarks,” predicted Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. “The royal family loves it. They love that kind of thing. They have, for so many years, had a lot of state visits, which, frankly, to them, are quite dull.”
Security arrangements have been extensive, with Thames Valley Police deploying armed officers, marine units on the River Thames, drone teams, and what officials describe as “a number of tactics that people won’t see.” The carriage procession will follow a route through Windsor Castle’s grounds rather than through the town centre, partly to minimise security risks and reduce the likelihood of protests.
The diplomatic stakes are considerable, with Starmer hoping to leverage Trump’s admiration for the monarchy to advance British interests. Trade negotiations remain ongoing, with the US maintaining a 25 per cent tariff on British steel imports despite efforts to finalise a comprehensive trade deal. Trump indicated before departing Washington that he was “into helping” Britain refine the agreement.
Thursday’s agenda includes a meeting between Trump and Starmer at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s countryside residence, where bilateral issues including Ukraine support and trade relations will dominate discussions. Meanwhile, Melania Trump will remain at Windsor for a tour of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library with Queen Camilla, followed by a scouting event at Frogmore Gardens with Princess Kate.
The visit represents a remarkable turnaround in relations since Trump’s controversial first term, when his policies and rhetoric frequently clashed with British sensibilities. His 2019 state visit saw massive protests in London, including the infamous “Trump baby” balloon that flew over the capital. This time, authorities have kept the President in what observers describe as a “Windsor bubble” to minimise public confrontations.
Royal watchers note the irony that Windsor Castle is hosting the visit whilst Buckingham Palace undergoes extensive renovations. Trump had previously boasted about the prestigious venue, telling reporters: “They’ve never used Windsor Castle for this before. They use Buckingham Palace. And I don’t want to say one’s better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right?”
The President’s fascination with the British monarchy dates back decades. In 1988, he hosted the then-Prince Charles at Mar-a-Lago, though Charles opted to sleep at a horse ranch rather than Trump’s Florida estate. Trump later circulated unfounded rumours that Charles and Princess Diana were interested in purchasing an apartment at Trump Tower.
As protests are planned for central London on Wednesday, with demonstrators gathering at 2pm for a march to Parliament, the carefully choreographed royal welcome continues a British diplomatic tradition of using ceremonial splendour to influence American presidents. Whether the strategy succeeds in advancing British interests remains to be seen, but Trump’s enthusiasm for the spectacle appears undiminished.
The Trumps will depart Thursday afternoon following the Chequers meeting, concluding what royal historians are already calling one of the most controversial state visits in modern British history.
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Image Credit:
The President and First Lady in the U.K. (June 3, 2019) — photo by Andrea Hanks / Official White House, Public Domain (U.S. federal government work).
