By Charlotte Fisher

Copyright manchestereveningnews

A lavish state banquet has been put on for Donald Trump tonight as part of his second state visit to the UK. The US President is dining with the King and Queen, as well as Keir Starmer and many other influential people from across the country. The traditional state banquet is being held in St George’s Hall at the castle, and both the King and the 47th president of the United States are set to deliver speeches. The menu for the banquet, written in French as is the custom, consists of Hampshire watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, followed by organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes, with a thyme and savoury infused jus, and then bombe glacee cardinal, which is a vanilla ice cream bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet interior with lightly poached victoria plums. Mr Trump is known to have a sweet tooth, so is likely to enjoy the ice cream bombe. Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here The table in St George’s Hall is 47.32 metres long for the banquet – which equates to 2.7 Marine Ones laid end to end, or 8.6 Beast Cadillacs, or 19.7 golf carts. It has been decorated with 139 candles and 1,452 pieces of cutlery to serve the 160 guests. Household staff have spent the last week setting up the antique mahogany dining table, finishing building it on Sunday, laying the cutlery on Monday and the setting on the last of the flowers at around 5.30pm on Wednesday – around three hours before the banquet began. Guests were “representative of Atlantic relationships” with the list drawn up by the Government, the White House and the Royal Household. The Palace decides on the seating plan, with the Government and White House also being shown the suggestion and the final decision approved by the King and Queen. The pink, yellow and purple flowers include handpicked seasonal blooms and herbs from the gardens at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and The Savill Garden in Windsor Great Park. The grand displays were arranged in silver-gilt centrepieces taken from the Grand Service. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Afterwards, flowers that cannot be reused are donated to Floral Angels, a charity of which the Queen is patron, and delivered to hospices, elderly care homes and shelters. Music played by the Duchess of Edinburgh’s String Orchestra includes Nessun Dorma, a James Bond medley, Ave Maria Schubert, as well as Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Sir Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. As part of the state visit, a bespoke transatlantic whisky sour cocktail garnished with a toasted marshmallow set on a star-shaped biscuit “evoking the warmth of a fireside S’more” is being served in honour of US President Donald Trump. In a tradition started by the King, a new cocktail is created specially for each state dinner and incorporates a nod to its VIP guests. Buckingham Palace said the tipple, a UK/US twist on the classic whisky sour, “blends the smoky depth of Johnnie Walker Black with the bright citrus of marmalade”. Wine list: After dinner: Cocktail