United States President Donald Trump has arrived in the United Kingdom for his second state visit, describing it as a “great honour” to be hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle.
The US president landed at the London Stansted airport on Tuesday evening, where new UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper was among those greeting him as he stepped off Air Force One.
Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is expected to stay overnight at Winfield House, the official residence of the US ambassador in Regent’s Park, before travelling to Windsor Castle on Wednesday for a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet.
Thousands are expected to protest during his stay, though he has no public-facing engagements planned.
Speaking to reporters before landing, Trump said: “My relationship is very good with the UK, and Charles, as you know, who’s now King, is my friend. It’s the first time this has ever happened where somebody was honoured twice. So, it’s a great honour.”
The visit comes as the UK and US prepare to sign a landmark technology agreement aimed at boosting cooperation between the two countries’ multi-trillion-dollar tech sectors.
Trump is expected to be joined by a delegation of US executives, including Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Reuters reported.
Meanwhile, Sky News reported that BlackRock plans to invest $700m in British data centres as part of a series of announcements tied to the state visit.
The UK was the first country to sign a bilateral trade agreement with the Trump administration in May. Under that deal, Washington pledged to reduce tariffs on aluminium and steel from 25 percent to zero, though the changes have yet to take effect.
Trump has hinted at possible tariff relief for UK steel ahead of talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, on Thursday.
“I’m there also on trade. They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit. We’ve made a deal, and it’s a great deal, and I’m into helping them,” Trump said.
