By Buckingham Palace,Cde
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Donald Trump is set to fly to the UK today for an unprecedented second state visit.
The US president and first lady Melania Trump will be hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle. It will mark the first time Mr Trump has met with Charles since he became monarch.
The trip is unusual as US presidents serving a second term are not typically offered a state visit. Instead, they are invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
The visitors are set to be greeted by mass protests by the Stop Trump Coalition in both Windsor and London, with security heightened during his stay.
Here is what we know about Mr Trump’s trip:
When is Trump’s state visit?
Buckingham Palace originally announced that Mr and Mrs Trump had accepted an invitation from the King to pay a state visit to the UK from Wednesday 17 September to Friday 19 September.
But the visit has been moved, and slightly shortened, due to the president’s schedule, so the Trumps will now arrive this evening and leave on Thursday.
Sir Keir Starmer handed the invite to Mr Trump on behalf of the King during his own visit to the White House in February.
After reading it, Mr Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “and that says ‘at Windsor’ – that’s really something”.
Windsor is being used as refurbishment works continue at Buckingham Palace. The royal residence in Berkshire was also used for French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit in July.
The trip comes two months after Mr Trump went on a private visit to Scotland, during which he held meetings with Sir Keir, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen, and the First Minister of Scotland John Swinney – and also opened a luxury new golf course.
What will the schedule look like?
Here are some of the details from an itinerary released by Buckingham Palace:
Tuesday 16 September
The Trumps will arrive this evening, and are set to be greeted on behalf of the King by US Ambassador Warren Stephens and Viscount Hood, Lord-in-Waiting.
They will remain within the private Windsor Castle’s estate overnight, and there will be no public-facing element.
Wednesday 17 September
The Prince and Princess of Wales will greet the president and his wife in the grounds of the Windsor estate in the morning, before accompanying them to meet the King and Queen for an open-air greeting.
Mr and Ms Trump, the King, Camilla, William, and Kate will then take part in a carriage procession through the estate to the castle, with the carriage ride joined by the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, which will provide a Sovereign’s Escort, as well as members of the armed forces and three military bands.
In contrast to Mr Macron, they will not enjoy a carriage ride through the town, nor take a trip into London to see the grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.
A ceremonial welcome with a guard of honour will be staged in the quadrangle of the castle, as is customary, followed by lunch with the royal family and a visit to see a Royal Collection exhibition within the castle.
The president and his wife will then visit St George’s Chapel privately on Wednesday afternoon to lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, whom they both met on their first state visit.
They will then be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows alongside UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn at Windsor Castle, as well as a special Beating Retreat military ceremony.
The special additions have never been deployed before for a state visit and will take place, as well as the traditional grand state banquet and ceremonial welcome.
The traditional grand state banquet is set to follow in the castle’s St George’s Hall in the evening, with both Mr Trump and the King to give speeches as the event gets underway.
Thursday 18 September
The president and first lady will formally bid farewell to the King and Queen at Windsor Castle in the morning, before Mr Trump heads to Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire.
He will meet Sir Keir Starmer and his wife and be greeted with a guard of honour from RAF Halton and bagpipers.
The president and prime minister will view the Sir Winston Churchill archives held at Chequers, before holding a bilateral meeting and joining a business reception with the chancellor. A press conference is expected to follow.
Meanwhile, Mrs Trump is set to view the Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, before joining Kate at Frogmore Gardens for a meeting with the Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels programme.
Kate has been Joint President of the Scout Association since 2020.
Mrs Trump will later travel to Chequers to join her husband as the remaining elements of the state visit take place.
Sir Keir and Lady Victoria are to bid farewell to the Trumps at Chequers, while the Lord Chamberlain will be there to wave them off on behalf of King Charles.
The US president will not visit Parliament – usually an honour given to visiting heads of state – as the House of Commons will be in recess for party conference season.
This could help resolve a potentially awkward issue after some MPs had raised significant concerns about Mr Trump being given the privilege of speaking.
US tech and finance giants on guest list
Jensen Huang, the boss of Nvidia, the chipmaker which has become the world’s most valuable public company, is among the corporate chiefs lining up to accompany Mr Trump on the state visit, Sky News understands.
Sources told Sky News’ City editor Mark Kleinman that Sam Altman, the boss of OpenAI; Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive of asset management behemoth BlackRock; and Stephen Schwarzman, the boss of private equity giant Blackstone, are also expected to be among the attendees.
Tim Cook, the Apple chief executive, has also been invited and may attend a state banquet at Windsor, the sources added, while Jamie Dimon, the JP Morgan chief, is understood to be unable to make the trip because of existing diary commitments.
The attendance of figures such as Mr Huang and, potentially, Mr Altman, will fuel expectations that a wave of corporate deals and investments in the UK will be unveiled during Mr Trump’s visit.
Read More Via Sky News
