Trump gets royal welcome in UK amid pomp and Epstein protests
King Charles is hosting the US president and first lady at Windsor Castle, as they make a historic second visit
US President Donald Trump kicked off his historic second state visit to Britain on Wednesday amid unprecedented pomp, intense security, technology investments and protests as King Charles and other royals welcomed their nation’s closest ally.
Trump and his wife Melania are being hosted by the king at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, where he is being treated to the full array of British pageantry from a carriage procession to a lavish banquet.
Britain laid on what it said was the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory, and Trump, an overt royal fan, has made little secret of his delight at being not just the first US leader, but the first elected politician to be invited for two state visits.
“This was the second state visit, and that’s the first, and maybe that’s going to be the last time, I hope it is actually,” Trump joked during the evening banquet.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping to use that sentiment to Britain’s advantage as his government seeks to use the trip to cement the two nations’ “special relationship”, deepen economic ties, secure billions of dollars of investment, discuss tariffs and press Trump on Ukraine and Israel.