Ahmed Kamel – Egypt Daily News
U.S. President Donald Trump was welcomed to Windsor Castle on a historic second state visit, culminating in a grand banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The occasion drew together a host of British royals, U.S. dignitaries, and business leaders in an evening marked by opulence, diplomacy, and a backdrop of political protest.
The banquet, held in the majestic St George’s Hall, featured all the ceremonial grandeur expected of a royal state dinner. Trump, 79, was joined by First Lady Melania Trump, as well as his daughter Tiffany Trump and her husband, businessman Michael Boulos. It was Tiffany’s second time attending a royal state event, having also accompanied her father during his first visit in 2019.
Ahead of the dinner, an official photograph was released showing the former president and his wife standing alongside King Charles and Queen Camilla, an image symbolizing a continued, if complex, alliance between the UK and the United States.
The Prince and Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Gloucester, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, were among the members of the royal family in attendance. Kate, Princess of Wales, dazzled in a custom couture gown by British designer Phillipa Lepley, while Queen Camilla wore a royal blue embroidered dress by Fiona Clare, accompanied by a sapphire and diamond tiara and the King’s Family Order.
Trump was seated between King Charles III and the Princess of Wales, an arrangement interpreted by some observers as a diplomatic gesture of goodwill, given the often turbulent history between the former U.S. president and the British royal establishment.
Among the American delegation were key figures from the technology sector, including Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. In a notable seating arrangement, Altman was placed next to UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, underscoring the intersection of diplomacy and tech policy at the high-level gathering.
The evening’s menu, curated by royal chefs, featured British seasonal fare: Hampshire watercress panna cotta, organic Norfolk chicken ballotine, and a vanilla ice bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet. Surprisingly, Trump’s team made no special dietary requests, which reportedly puzzled members of the White House press pool.
Ahead of the event, King Charles and Queen Camilla personally inspected the banquet setup, as shown in a video shared by the royal family on social media. The 42.3-meter banquet table, longer than two and a half Marine One helicopters was adorned with elaborate floral arrangements in pink, purple, and yellow. It was set with 139 candles, 1,452 pieces of hand-polished cutlery, and five crystal glasses for each of the 160 guests.
In a personal touch, the royal hosts served a vintage 1945 port wine, the closest vintage to Trump’s birth year, and a rare 1912 cognac in honor of his mother Mary’s birth year. Music throughout the evening ranged from a James Bond medley and Elton John’s “Tiny Dancer” to classical selections and Scottish dances, nodding to the former president’s Scottish heritage.
Earlier in the day, Trump laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II in St George’s Chapel, describing the moment as “a great honour.” He then joined the King, Queen Camilla, and Melania Trump to witness the Beating Retreat, a ceremonial military performance featuring 200 musicians. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was also in attendance.
The day was meant to conclude with a joint UK-US flypast of F-35 Lightning jets, intended to symbolize transatlantic military cooperation but the display was cancelled due to cloud cover. The Red Arrows, the RAF’s aerobatic team, performed in its place, trailing red, white, and blue smoke over Windsor Castle.
Despite the elegance and diplomatic symbolism of the state banquet, the visit was not without controversy. Protesters gathered outside Windsor Castle and in Parliament Square, with some flying the now-infamous Trump baby balloon. One of the most provocative acts was a projection onto Windsor Castle showing an image of Trump with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the Labour Party, addressed demonstrators at a nearby rally, praising the protestors and criticizing what he described as the erosion of democratic rights.
“There’s something very sinister about our times,” Corbyn said. “Peaceful protest is being treated like terrorism. They don’t want us to protest, so they take away our right to protest.”
Thames Valley Police confirmed that four individuals were arrested on suspicion of malicious communications related to the projection stunt. However, officers who stopped a separate mobile billboard van confirmed no arrests were made and the vehicle was not seized.
Trump, who arrived at Stansted Airport aboard Air Force One the previous evening, spent his first night at the U.S. ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park. Upon landing, he said that being back in the UK “warms my heart.”
His visit, which marks only the second U.S. presidential state visit to the UK in recent years, comes at a politically sensitive moment in both nations. But for one night at Windsor, diplomatic ceremony eclipsed politics, offering a brief but striking image of pageantry and power shared across the Atlantic.
