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Key Points
- Donald Trump has started a historic second UK state visit with grandeur, security and royal pageantry.
- The day concluded with a lavish banquet, but protests and questions about ties to Jeffrey Epstein hang over the visit.
- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping the royals can cajole Trump into further progress on trade.
“It’s a very special place,” Trump said, adding that he loved the UK.
The first day of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK concludes with a banquet at Windsor Castle. Source: AAP / PA / Phil Noble
UK prime minister hoping to sway Trump on visit
“They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit,” Trump said on Tuesday.
Donald Trump (left) has been treated to a show of royal pageantry by King Charles and Queen Camilla. Source: AAP / AP / Kevin Lamarque
But while Starmer is banking on the royals to help cajole the Anglophile president, whose mother came from Scotland, many pitfalls for the UK’s prime minister remain.
How popular is Donald Trump in the UK?
Awkward questions about late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein could also come to the fore.
Protesters in London demonstrated against Donald Trump’s visit to the UK. Source: AAP / EPA / Tolga Akmen
Trump was not there at the time.
“I quite simply dislike everything that Trump and his administration represent around the globe,” retiree Bryan Murray said.
Musician Billy Bragg performed at a protest. Source: AAP / PA / James Manning
Trump and Melania joined Charles, his wife Queen Camilla and other royals and dignitaries for a carriage procession on Wednesday, with the route lined by 1,300 UK service personnel.
Later, the Trumps viewed historical items from the Royal Collection relating to the United States.
Donald Trump will spend three days in the UK for the visit. Source: AAP / AP / Yui Mok
The president was shown a letter sent from president Abraham Lincoln to Queen Victoria in 1862 expressing his condolences after the death of Prince Albert, which was described as a “defining moment” in the special relationship between the UK and the US.
Trump remarked “that is so amazing, that’s the real deal” and leaned forward to have a closer look.
She died in September 2022.
Trump meets ‘very handsome’ Prince William
There was a further military parade and a flypast by the UK Red Arrows aerobatics team.
The UK laid on what it said was the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory. Source: AAP / PA / Jordan Pettitt
The Trumps also found time for a private meeting with the King’s “very handsome” elder son Prince William — as the president has called him — and the heir’s wife Kate, which was described by the prince’s spokesperson as “warm and friendly”.
