By Matthew Moore

Copyright hellomagazine

The Prince and Princess of Wales will be greeting President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump when they head to the United Kingdom next week for their state visit. The royals will greet the American couple on 17 September, before they join King Charles and Queen Camilla for an open-air greeting and a carriage procession through to the estate of Windsor Castle. However, before their arrival, it was confirmed that there will be a major change to the proceedings with the dates of the state visit switching.

Initially, the President and First Lady were due to arrive in the UK on 17 September before departing on 19 September. HELLO! understands that owing to a busy schedule for the couple, they will instead arrive on 16 September, although they will take part in no public-facing engagements, before leaving on 18 September following an engagement at Chequers.

Schedule of the visit

On the first day, President Trump and Melania will be greeted on behalf of King Charles and Queen Camilla by Warren A. Stephens, the ambassador for the United States in the United Kingdom and Henry Hood, the Lord-in-waiting. The couple won’t take part in any public engagements on Tuesday night, but will spend the night in Windsor Castle.

It will be a busy day the following day with the President and First Lady being greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales. They will then be formally welcomed by the King and Queen and a royal salute will be fired from both the east lawn of Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. This will be followed by a carriage procession through the grounds the Windsor estate involving the royals and the Trumps. The route will be lined with members of the armed forces.

President Trump and the King will then inspect a Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle before a lunch in the State Dining Room. The visiting presidential couple will then be allowed to view a special display of items in the Royal Collection that are related to the United States. A touching moment will see the King and President Trump pay a visit to the tomb of the late Queen, who Trump admired deeply. There, they will lay a wreath and there will be a short tour of the chapel. The day will end with a flypast from the Red Arrows and a State Banquet.

On the final day, the President and his wife will conduct separate engagements. President Trump will head to Chequers where he will meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria. During the visit, he will view the Sir Winston Churchill archives and attend a business reception, hosted by Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Meanwhile, Melania will look at Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle before meeting with the Princess of Wales at Frogmore Gardens. There, they will meet with Chief Scout Dwayne Fields, and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels programme; Kate has been President of the Scout Association since 2020. Melania will then travel to Chequers to reunite with her husband as the state visit comes to an end.