President Donald Trump will touch down in Britain with Melania Trump Tuesday ahead of a ceremonial welcome from King Charles III the following day.
Protesters are already gearing up with a giant photo of the president and Jeffrey Epstein unfurled near Windsor Castle.
Needless to say, Trump can expect plenty of pageantry for his historic second state visit, with Buckingham Palace laying on a carriage procession this time, which was ruled out by security concerns during his first state visit.
Donald Trump’s Royal Welcome to Britain
The president and first lady will arrive in the evening U.K. time and so will be treated to a paired down initial welcome by Warren Stephens, America’s ambassador to Britain, and The Viscount Hood, Lord in Waiting, representing the king. The Guardian reported Yvette Cooper, the new British foreign secretary will also be present.
The visit begins in earnest the following day when there will be a ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle.
The Trumps will arrive in the morning and be met outside the castle by Prince William and Princess Kate, who will join them as they then meet King Charles and Queen Camilla.
A royal saulte will be fired from the East Lawn of the castle at the same time as one at the Tower of London, around 25 miles away.
Next comes the carriage procession through the Windsor Estate toward the castle.
The exact route has not been made public but French President Emmanuel Macron received similar treatment when he visited Britain in July, which took him through the streets of Windsor as crowds cheered from the roadside.
For Trump, the route will be “lined by members of the Armed Forces, with three military bands from the Royal Marines, the Army and the RAF,” Buckingham Palace said.
Trump and the royals will be escorted by The Household Cavalry Mounted and played off to the sound of the U.S. and British national anthems.
They will then arrive at the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle for a guard of honor by the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards.
President Joe Biden met Queen Elizabeth II at the Quadrangle in 2021 and also King Charles III in 2023.
Donald Trump’s Lunch and State Banquet
The U.S. party will be treated to lunch with the royals in the State Dining Room at Windsor Castle before Chales and Camilla take them to see a special display of the Royal Collection relating to America in the Green Room.
There will then be an opportunity for the Trumps to privately lay a wreath on Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb at St George’s Chapel, which is within the castle grounds.
Trump met Elizabeth during his first term as president but did not attend her funeral as Biden was president at the time and the invite from the British government did not extend to predecessors.
The Trumps will get a tour of the chapel and a performance from its choir before Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife join the two couples alongside British and American military families.
They will then view a Beating Retreat ceremony, when military drummers mark the end of the day, on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle.
There will also be a flypast by British and American military jets before the State Banquet in the evening at the castle.
Both the king and the president will deliver speeches and it will be an opportunity for glamorous gowns and potentially tiaras for the women.
Trump and Starmer To Talk Politics
The Trumps will stay overnight at Windsor before heading to Chequers, the prime minister’s country house, the following day where the visit will become more political.
Starmer will then have a chance to try to lobby Trump on whatever issues he considers most pressing, which could range from trade and tariffs to the war in Ukraine.
There will be a guard of honor from RAF Halton and bagpipers, and they will view the Sir Winston Churchill archives before a bilateral meeting.
Starmer and Trump will then join a business reception, hosted by Britain’s finance chief, Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Both will “deliver remarks” before holding a press conference.
While Trump and Starmer talk politics, Melania will stay on at Windsor Castle to visit Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library with Camilla.
She will then join Kate at Frogmore Gardens, which contains Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s former U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage.
They will meet the Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields, and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels program.
Melania will then reunite with her husband at Chequers before wrapping up the visit and flying home.