Britain treated Donald Trump to an elaborate ceremonial welcome featuring a gun salute and mounted horses as the US president's unprecedented second state visit began under tight security on Wednesday.
Heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine warmly greeted Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after the Marine One helicopter touched down at Windsor Castle shortly at 12:15pm local time.
Inside a ring of steel and out of sight from noisy protesters, William and Catherine walked Trump and his wife a short distance to meet King Charles III and Queen Camilla as the UK's major charm offensive got underway.
As the president shook hands with the king, a 41-gun salute was fired simultaneously from six World War One-era guns on the castle's east lawn, as a similar display occurred at the Tower of London, in the centre of the capital.
Some 120 horses, and 1,300 members of the British military took part in the ceremony, which UK officials say marked the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit to Britain in living memory.
The Trumps and the royals then embarked on a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the nearly 1,000-year-old castle.
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Second state visit
Trump is the first US president to be invited for two state visits, after previously being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II during his last term in office in 2019.
"Charles, as you know, who's now king, is my friend," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving with First Lady Melania Trump to head to Britain aboard Air Force One.
"He's such an elegant gentleman and he represents the country so well."
Trump will also meet Labour leader Keir Starmer, not a natural bedfellow for right-wing Trump, but he has worked to win him over since his return to the White House in January.
The visit is "a huge moment for both" men, said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.
"For Trump, the state visit is an opportunity to revel in the pomp and ceremony he loves," she told French news agency AFP.
"For Starmer, the visit is a chance to distract from domestic discontent and shift the limelight onto international issues where he has had greater success."
Protests, tariffs
Demonstrations were planned in Windsor and central London over Trump's visit, the scale of which is unprecedented – featuring the first joint flypast by US and UK fighter jets at such an event.
A spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition said: "Starmer rolling out the red carpet for Trump sends a deeply dangerous message and does nothing to provide support to communities seeing a surge in racism in the UK."
Trump indicated that the embattled Starmer will still have his work cut out as Britain seeks to put the finishing touches on a deal to avoid the US president's sweeping global tariffs.
"They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit," Trump said.
Controversies over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and free-speech culture wars, and Starmer's political troubles at home could also make for some awkward moments.
Downing Street has said Trump's visit would see the "unbreakable friendship" between the countries "reach new heights".
The two nations are set to sign a raft of agreements worth £10 billion (€11.5 billion), including one to speed up new nuclear projects as well as what British officials called "a world-leading tech partnership".
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Ahead of the trip, Google said it would invest £5 billion (€5.7 billion) in the UK over the next two years while US finance firms including PayPal and Citi Group announced they would spend £1.25 billion (€1.3 billion).
Ukraine will also be a key topic. Starmer is one of a host of European leaders who have pushed Trump to keep backing Kyiv despite signs of him leaning toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Trump will likely meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.
First Lady Melania Trump, who is making a rare public appearance, will take part in an event with Queen Camilla on Thursday.
Background tensions
Despite the pomp, tensions will be lurking in the background.
The White House said Trump would discuss "how important it is for the prime minister to protect free speech in the UK" – a topic raised by Trump's former ally Elon Musk in a speech to a far-right rally in Britain over the weekend.
Starmer's spokesman on Monday called Musk's language "dangerous and inflammatory".
Starmer has had a difficult few days in which some of his own Labour party members have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader.
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Recently, he has been dogged by questions over his judgement for appointing the now-sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his known friendship with Epstein.
Trump, for his part, is facing awkward scrutiny himself over his own links to the convicted sex offender.
He filed a $15 billion (€12.8 billion) defamation lawsuit against The New York Times on Monday, accusing the outlet of a "decades-long pattern" of smears driven by feelings of "actual malice."
It reported last week that Trump had threatened legal action against it in relation to its articles on a lewd birthday note allegedly given to Epstein. The Republican president has denied authoring the note.
(with AFP)
