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Catherine, Princess of Wales is set to host US first lady Melania Trump for a special joint appearance at Windsor Castle’s Frogmore Gardens to highlight scouting next week, underscoring a broader diplomatic effort by the United Kingdom to cultivate close ties with the Trump administration.
The princess and first lady are both intensely private women with massive global platforms. The September 18 appearance, which will come on the heels of a state visit, marks a rare public appearance for both.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will next week host President Donald Trump and the first lady at Windsor Castle, where they will be treated to all of the pomp and circumstance of a state banquet on Wednesday evening.
The following day, Melania Trump and Kate will meet with Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels program as they learn about nature to achieve their “Go Wild” badge, according to Buckingham Palace. The princess is joint president of the Scout Association, a title she’s held since 2020.
Both the princess and the first lady have made the well-being of children a key priority of their tenures. The first lady has been rarely seen during her husband’s second term, but has privately played an influential role, including sending a letter to President Vladimir Putin with an appeal to end the war in Ukraine. The princess has taken on a lighter schedule of royal engagements, undertaking a phased return to her duties after treatment for cancer.
The event will be closely watched as a major moment amid the princess’ rising diplomatic role, as she works to build relationships in a more unpredictable era for US diplomacy.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer deployed the power of the royal family early in President Trump’s second term, delivering a letter from the king to Trump in the Oval Office. The president has stated an affinity for the royals, especially the late Queen Elizabeth II.
It’s not the first time the princess has appeared alongside a first lady. Kate met with Jill Biden in 2021, visiting a school in Cornwall, England, during the G7 summit as they highlighted early childhood education.
Biden and the then-Duchess of Cambridge wrote in an op-ed for CNN that both the US and UK should make a “fundamental shift in how our countries approach the earliest years of life.”
And the princess also met with the Obamas, memorably introducing a young Prince George clad in a bathrobe at Kensington Palace in 2016.
Melania Trump is also expected to hold a joint appearance with Queen Camilla next week, touring Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace announced.