By Annabal Bagdi

Copyright birminghammail

Donald Trump is set to be wined and dined at a lavish white tie state banquet in Windsor Castle tonight. Extravagant royal hospitality will be deployed in honour of the US president and First Lady Melania Trump, who arrived at the castle just after 12.15pm. They will join 160 guests in the impressive St George’s Hall for the extravagant feast on Wednesday, September 17. Every element of the banquet is checked and approved by the King, down to the very last detail. King Charles and the Queen usually inspect the table in person beforehand. They are expected to make their way around the room in the afternoon and examine the preparations alongside the Master of the Household,Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt. READ MORE: Exact Red Arrows route for Donald Trump UK state visit at Windsor Castle today In a tradition started by Charles, a bespoke cocktail will be created specially for the occasion, no doubt celebrating the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and the US. For French President Emmanuel Macron’s state dinner, the tipple was named L’entente – in a nod to the L’Entente Cordiale. It combined British gin with lemon curd and French pastis. The drink was garnished with dried French cornflowers and English roses. For the Japanese state visit, a yuzu marmalade sour, featuring whisky and marmalade and resembling the flag of Japan, was crafted. Mr Trump is teetotal so will not indulge in the variety of vintage wines on offer or the special cocktail created in his honour unless it is alcohol-free. Preparations for a state banquet start six months earlier, while it usually take household staff about three days to lay the table. Guests have been invited on the basis of their cultural, diplomatic or economic links to the US. They will dine on an exquisite menu, penned in French, prepared by royal chefs and served on historic, priceless dinner sets. Former US president Barack Obama’s state banquet in 2011 was sprinkled with Hollywood stardust. His guest list included actor Tom Hanks, actress Helena Bonham Carter and director Tim Burton. The dinner for Mr Trump’s last state visit in 2019 was more trade and business rather than showbusiness. Charles and Camilla will head members of the Royal Family , with the Prince and Princess of Wales expected to attend. The King will be seated next to Mr Trump in the middle of one side of the table, with Mrs Trump and Camilla opposite them on the other side. At Mr Macron’s banquet, Kate Middleton was seated next to the president at his right hand side. Princee William was opposite, next to France’s First Lady Brigitte Macron. Other royals will be seated around the table between the guests. The Duke of York will be absent despite attending last time. He has since been forced to step down from the working monarchy over his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The attending royals are yet to be announced but there were 16 family members at the last state banquet for Mr Trump. The late Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted the occasion in 2019, died three years ago. The Duke of Kent is grieving his wife Katharine, Duchess of Kent, whose funeral took place on Tuesday, September 16. Princess Alexandra is now frail and has not attended banquets for several years. Lord Peter Mandelson will also be missing after he was sacked as US ambassador by Prime Minister Keir Starmer just days before the event following reports he sent supportive messages to sex offender Epstein. Sir Keir will be expected to put on his white tie and tails and turn up to join the guests. But Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is boycotting the banquet in a protest against Mr Trump’s position on Gaza. Royal chef Mark Flanagan and his team of 20 will serve seasonal produce, sourced from royal estates. Charles and Camilla will have selected the final menu, which will be expected to include a nod to the US, from a series of four alternatives. Seasonal flowers handpicked from the gardens at Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park will be arranged in elaborate displays along the table in silver-gilt centrepieces. After the banquet, flowers are usually donated to Floral Angels – a charity of which Camilla is patron and which delivers the blooms to hospices, elderly care homes and shelters. The impressive St George’s Hall is the largest room in the castle at 55.5 metres long (180ft) and nine metres wide (29.5ft), while the 50 metre (164ft) table stretches its full length. The castle’s staff will have started constructing the mahogany table almost a week ago. Tablecloths and napkins – folded in the shape of a Dutch bonnet – cruet sets, elaborate floral decorations, priceless plates and candelabra will all have carefully been put in order. There will also be six glasses – for water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, a dessert wine and port – will all have carefully been put in order. Every place setting must be precisely 18 inches apart – with measuring sticks used to ensure absolute precision. Footmen and women must make sure every chair is exactly the same distance from the table, with each glass the same distance from the front edge of the table. There will be 19 stations set up around the edge of the room, each manned by four staff – a page, footman, under butler and a wine butler – who use a traffic light system to co-ordinate the serving of courses. Detailed diagrams are used to illustrate serving plans and a list of special instructions sets out any dietary requirements and requests for royals and other guests. Staff must also put a special cushion on Charles’ seat to ease his long-standing back issues. Charles also likes a bowl of olive oil, rather than butter pats, at his setting for his bread. The dress code is tiaras and white tie – or national dress. Members of the Royal Family don sashes and badges known as orders if they have been given them in recognition of royal service. Speeches take place at the start at about 8.30pm when Charles and Mr Trump will both make a speech and propose toasts to one another, followed by the playing of the national anthems. A string orchestra usually provides the musical backdrop. The hall’s gothic style ceiling with impressive oak beam roof is studded with the coats of arms of every single Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in 1348. Its walls and ceiling had to be painstakingly rebuilt after being decimated in the Windsor Castle fire of 1992. Just before the banquet begins, the Royal Family will be lined up to be personally introduced to Mr Trump and First Lady Melania. Then, Charles and Camilla and the president and first lady will be formally introduced to and shake hands with each and every guest as they file into the ballroom. The King and the president will then make their way into the room side by side. The end of the banquet is signalled by the arrival of 12 pipers processing round the room, a tradition started by Queen Victoria. Don’t miss the biggest and breaking stories by signing up to the BirminghamLive newsletter here .