WINDSOR, UK — Activists in the United Kingdom began a series of protests targeting visiting U.S. President Donald Trump as he is welcomed by King Charles III as a state guest. 

Outside Windsor Castle, where Trump is staying, a UK activist group has unfurled a huge banner on the lawn showing U.S. President Trump with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The political campaign group Everyone Hates Elon displayed the banner ahead of Trump’s unprecedented second state visit to the United Kingdom. The banner has since been removed.

When Trump was in London on his first state visit in 2019, he was met by thousands of protesters who filled the streets outside the Houses of Parliament as a balloon shaped like a giant, diaper-wearing baby Trump floated overhead.

Most state visits are staged in London, against the grand backdrop of Buckingham Palace and the broad, flag-lined boulevard known as The Mall.

But this time King Charles III will welcome Trump to the cozier confines of Windsor, a historic town of just over 30,000 people about 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of central London.

The banner on the lawn was meant to be seen by those inside the castle. But a separate demonstration was aimed at the castle instead. 

Images of US President Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein were projected onto the walls of Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, as Trump arrived in the UK for the state visit.

The projections included photos of Trump alongside Epstein, as well as Trump’s 2023 mug shot.

Four people were arrested on “suspicion of malicious communications” following the projections, said Thames Valley Police.

“We are conducting a thorough investigation with our partners into the circumstances surrounding this incident and will provide further updates when we are in a position to do so,” Thames Valley Police Chief Superintendent Felicity Parker said.

King Charles III will host Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday before talks the next day with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.

Trump’s two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle — all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor.

The trip is part of an elaborate song and dance meant to bolster ties with Trump at a time when his America First policies are putting pressure on trade and security arrangements around the globe. British officials are also hoping to avoid awkward questions about Jeffrey Epstein. 

Days before the state visit, Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired Britain’s ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, over the diplomat’s past friendship with the convicted sex offender.

Trump plans talks Thursday with Starmer, who will promote a new U.K.-U.S. technology deal. The British government hopes the deal, and billions in investment from U.S. tech companies, will help show that the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of NATO.

Britain’s royals long ago gave up political power, but their history, tradition and celebrity give them a cachet that means presidents and prime ministers covet an invitation to join them. Invitations handed out at the request of the elected government are a powerful tool to reward friends and wring concessions from reluctant allies.

No U.S. president, or any other world leader, has ever had the honor of a second U.K. state visit.

The day of pageantry as the president arrives, the highlight of Trump’s second state visit to Britain, was on a scale designed to impress the grandeur-loving president and involved some 120 horses and 1,300 troops, including the largest guard of honor in living memory.

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