By Editor,Matt Strudwick,Rebecca English
Copyright dailymail
Donald Trump has tonight arrived for his lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle. The US President, 79, and First Lady Melania were joined by his daughter Tiffany Trump and her business executive husband, Michael Boulos. Tiffany also accompanied her father during the first state visit in 2019, which was then attended by all of his children. The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Gloucester, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, were among the royals.
The Maga leader will be seated between his ‘friend’ King Charles III and Kate. Technocrats among the delegation of US executives included Apple CEO Tim Cook, and Open AI’s Sam Altman who will be sat next to Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.
Trump’s team did not, apparently, make any special requests as regards to the menu – which came as surprise to some of the White House press pack – which featured Hampshire watercress panna cotta, organic Norfolk chicken ballotine and vanilla ice bombe with a Kentish raspberry sorbet interior. King Charles and Queen Camilla earlier personally inspected the banquet table in St George’s Hall.
The royal couple surveyed the scene shown in footage posted on the official monarchy’s social media. Pink, purple and yellow blooms could be seen adorning the extravagant floral displays. The monarch and Camilla shook hands with Household staff who were behind the meticulous planning and staging of the grand affair.
And there were also several thoughtful touches such as a vintage port from 1945, the closest year to the president’s birth (there was no vintage when he was born in 1946), and a 1912 cognac, the year of his mother, Mary’s birth. Music ranged from a James Bond medley to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer and classical favourites, as well as Scottish dances in honour of the President’s family origins. The banquet, which had been laid out in the Great Hall, was nothing short of spectacular.
Staff had started putting the 42.32 metre – or 51.75 yard – long table together a week ago. ‘As long as 2.7 Marine Ones laid end to end,’ one member of staff said proudly, in reference to the President’s helicopter. It boasted 139 candles, 1,452 pieces of cutlery, all lovingly polished by hand, and seated 160 guests, each with five glasses by their setting.
The last of the stunning seasonal flower displays picked from the local estate was set up just hours before they arrived. Trump earlier today visited St George’s Chapel where he laid a wreath at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II. The 45th and 47th president looked sombre and spent ten minutes in the tomb. He described the visit to the late Queen’s resting place as a ‘great honour’.
Afterward, Trump joined the King to witness the ceremonial Beating Retreat musical display. The traditional showcase features a group of 200 military musicians performing on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle. King Charles sat on a stage next to Mr Trump, the Queen and First Lady Melania as the show got underway. In the crowd, also witnessing the spectacle was Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The parade was due to have ended with a spectacular, unprecedented flypast of F-35 jets from both the RAF and the US air force – the first time there would have been a joint UK-US flypast at a state visit . The four F-35 Lightning jets, flown by British and American pilots, were meant to have demonstrated the close ties between the UK and US Armed Forces , but the fly past was cancelled due to cloudy weather. Instead, only Red Arrows performed a fly past, with their famous red, white and blue smoke trails streaming over Windsor Castle just after 4.45pm.
The RAF’s aerobatic flying team have visited the US on five occasions since their first display season in 1965. Their last tour to America was in 2019 when the team performed displays in 19 states from east coast to west. The American leader is embarking on his historic second state visit and arrived just after 9pm yesterday on Air Force One at Stansted Airport.
The Trumps spent last night at the US ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park where he told how being in Britain ‘ warms my heart’ just moments after landing on Marine One on the lawn of Winfield House. His visit has been met with protests outside Windsor Castle and rally in Parliament Square where Trump baby balloons were flown. Former leader of the Labour Party Jeremy Corbyn congratulated the activists who last night projected an image of Trump and [child predator] financier Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle.
Speaking to crowds at the rally against Mr Trump’s second state visit, Mr Corbyn said ‘well done’ to the people responsible. Thames Valley Police said it had arrested four people on suspicious of malicious communications in connection with the stunt at the Berkshire royal residence. Mr Corbyn said: ‘There’s something very sinister about our times when peaceful protest becomes terrorism: when an ad van going around Windsor Castle perfectly legally is then stopped by the police, taken away, and those people prevented from expressing a point of view. ‘This is what’s happening to our democratic rights and democratic values in our society. They take away the right to protest because they don’t want us to protest.’ Thames Valley Police said its officers had spoken with the driver of an ad van which showed a picture of Mr Trump with Epstein, adding that no arrests were made and no vehicles were seized.
