In his toast to King Charles at the lavish state banquet that capped a day of pomp and celebration at Windsor Castle, Donald Trump rose up to heap praise on the monarch, the British empire and the ties between the UK and the US.
“The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal. It’s irreplaceable and unbreakable,” the US president said, before declaring: “We’ve done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history together.”
For hours, Trump had been soaking up the glory of his second state visit to the UK, with all the pageantry and flattery of the occasion. And when it came time for the King to say a few introductory words, he gave a nod to the president’s peacemaking efforts, which are struggling to bear fruit in both Gaza and Ukraine, that will have been music to Trump’s ears.
“Our countries are working together in support of crucial diplomatic efforts, not least of which, Mr President, is your own personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable conflicts in order to secure peace,” the King said.
The state banquet in honour of the visit by Donald Trump was held in St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle © Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images
The banquet table featured guests ranging from top officials in both governments to business leaders from both countries.
Steve Schwarzman, the Blackstone chief executive, sat next to Sir Keir Starmer, the British prime minister. Tim Cook, the Apple chief executive, sat next to Tiffany Trump, the president’s daughter. Marco Rubio, US secretary of state, sat by the King, while Scott Bessent, US Treasury secretary, flanked the Queen. Rupert Murdoch of News Corp attended, as did Jensen Huang of Nvidia, Sam Altman of OpenAI and Jane Fraser of Citigroup.
The main course was organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes.
However, Trump’s time with the royal family and their company may well be the high point of the visit for the president. On Thursday, he will travel to Chequers, Starmer’s country residence outside London, for potentially tense talks with the British premier about the Middle East and the war in Ukraine, all with the legacy of convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein casting a shadow over the event.
Trump and Starmer will be counting on a business roundtable, chaired by UK chancellor Rachel Reeves, to bring them together at the outset. A wave of US investment in Britain, including some deals to be announced during the state visit, was touted by Downing Street to be worth £150bn.
These included plans by Blackstone to invest £100bn in the UK over the next decade, including a new data centre in the north-east of England. Prologis, a US real estate investment trust, is investing £3.9bn in UK life science and advanced manufacturing, with Palantir, the US software company, is spending £1.5bn to make the UK “a defence innovation leader”.
But the Chequers talks will culminate in a joint press conference, where Trump is expected to face questions about Starmer’s plan to recognise the state of Palestine later this month, amid Israel’s intensifying offensive in Gaza. The US is strongly opposed to Palestinian statehood.
Following new revelations about Epstein that have shaken Washington and London in recent weeks, Trump may also face questions about his own ties to the disgraced financier, which have been attracting greater scrutiny domestically. Starmer last week was forced to sack Lord Peter Mandelson, his ambassador to the US, because of his links to Epstein.
King Charles and Donald Trump take part in a carriage parade through the Windsor estate © Toby Melville/Getty Images
Out of the royal portion of the state visit, Trump will have certainly got what he wanted. After flying from the US ambassador’s residence on Marine One to Windsor on Wednesday morning, where Trump and the first lady were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales, they were soon on to a golden carriage ride with King Charles and Queen Camilla before luncheon at the castle.
In a private moment in the afternoon, Trump and his wife, Melania, laid a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who had hosted them during his previous state visit in 2019.
The drizzly weather put paid to a fly-past by US and UK F-35 fighter jets, a moment British officials had hoped would symbolise the “special relationship” between the two militaries.
It was left to the Red Arrows to provide a stream of white, red and blue smoke over the castle’s medieval walls, following a military ceremony of brass bands and pipers, where Trump and the King were joined by Starmer and his wife Victoria.
Trump and his advisers may ultimately take issue with some subtle references in the King’s banquet remarks.
The Red Arrows capped the military display in the grounds of Windsor Castle with a fly-past © Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images
King Charles noted that “tyranny once again threatens Europe” — and said it was key to “stand together in support of Ukraine”, in a warning of sorts not to leave Kyiv facing a peace settlement that would favour Russia.
He also mentioned the value of the “Aukus submarine partnership” — a deal between the UK, the US and Australia that was unveiled during Joe Biden’s presidency and is being reviewed by Trump. And while the King did not utter the words climate change, which are anathema to the president and his team, he spent a chunk of his speech talking about environmental preservation.
“Our legacy for the next 250 years and beyond is to ensure that our children, grandchildren and those who come after them, can experience the awe and magnificence of the natural treasures found in the countryside, on the coasts, in the seas, and in the national parks, established by your predecessors and mine,” the King said.
Trump’s main message, though, was that the US and the UK could translate the British empire’s complicated and controversial history into a common cause in their modern alliance.
“The British empire laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights virtually everywhere the Union Jack has ever flown, including a place called America,” Trump said, adding: “We must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English speaking world.”