What to Know About President Trump’s Second State Visit to the U.K.

 

What to Know About President Trump’s Second State Visit to the U.K.

 

The president and the first lady will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle. Mr. Trump will also travel to the prime minister’s country residence, Chequers.

 

Stephen Castle

By Stephen Castle

Reporting from London

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/world/europe/trump-state-visit-uk-king-charles.html

Sept. 16, 2025, 12:01 a.m. ET

 

President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are set to arrive in Britain on Tuesday night for a two-day state visit, hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla.

 

In Britain, state visits are hosted by the monarch, and are a moment when the country rolls out the red carpet for visiting foreign royalty, presidents or prime ministers, showcasing the pomp, pageantry and ceremony for which the country is known.

 

Designed to strengthen Britain’s ties with other nations, the program usually includes a glittering banquet in a royal palace and a procession in a horse-drawn carriage.

 

State visits are arranged at the invitation of the sovereign, acting on government advice. They do not take place between Britain and the 14 countries, including Australia and Canada, that are members of the Commonwealth and share the king as head of state.

 

Mr. Trump and the first lady can expect all the finery and flourishes of a stay with the royal family. The carriage procession through the Windsor estate will be escorted by mounted soldiers from the Household Cavalry. At a white-tie state banquet on Wednesday evening, attended by around 150 guests, the king will make a speech and propose a toast to the president, who will reply and propose a toast in return.

 

How often do state visits happen in Britain?

Typically, one or two take place each year, with King Charles III undertaking a similar number to other countries.

 

Queen Elizabeth II hosted around 112 state visits in Britain between her accession in 1952 and her death in 2022 and made 89 outbound state visits between 1955 and 2015.

 

The most recent foreign leader to receive the honor in Britain was President Emmanuel Macron of France in July.

 

Wasn’t President Trump in Britain recently? And has he made a state visit before?

Yes, and yes. In July, Mr. Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, opened a new golf course in Aberdeenshire. While the trip was officially a vacation, the president held talks with Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, and with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain.

 

In 2019, during his first presidency, Mr. Trump was hosted for a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II. A second state visit is an unusual honor. At the White House in February, Mr. Starmer handed the president a letter from King Charles inviting Mr. Trump to return.

 

What is on the agenda?

The president and the first lady are scheduled to arrive Tuesday night, but the main focus of their visit will be on the following day at Windsor Castle, a royal home and fortress for more than 900 years.

 

A ceremonial welcome with a guard of honor will greet them, followed by lunch with the royal family. Mr. Trump will watch a fly-past by the Red Arrows, the aerobatics display team of the Royal Air Force, and American F-35 military jets, and there will be a military event known as Beating Retreat, a colorful display of music and drill.

 

On Thursday, the president will travel to Chequers, the official country residence of the British prime minister, where he will be greeted by Mr. Starmer and his wife, Victoria. The two leaders are likely to address a news conference in the afternoon. Before that they are expected to visit the Winston Churchill archives at Chequers and join a business reception.

 

Mrs. Trump will remain at Windsor, where she will see Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House with Queen Camilla, and later join Catherine, Princess of Wales, at Frogmore Gardens for an event with Britain’s Scouts Association.

 

Are any protests planned?

Yes. On Tuesday, organizers have called on protesters to gather in Windsor’s High Street, not far from the castle. For Wednesday, they have scheduled a demonstration in London culminating in a march to Parliament Square.

 

The state visit program has been designed to limit security risks, as well as minimizing the opportunity for protesters to confront a president who is broadly unpopular with the British public. The carriage procession will take place inside the royal grounds at Windsor, and the formal agenda does not include events in central London.

 

Are state visits purely ceremonial, or are they political, too?

State visits can be an important geopolitical tool for the government of the day. Given Mr. Trump’s longstanding admiration for the royal family, many analysts viewed the invitation that Mr. Starmer personally delivered to him in February as a potent diplomatic device that helped build their relationship.

 

Mr. Starmer, a former lawyer who leads the center-left Labour Party, has gone out of his way to try to cultivate Mr. Trump.

 

Britain’s main foreign policy objective is to solidify support for Ukraine and to persuade Mr. Trump to increase pressure on the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin — particularly following Russia’s recent drone incursions into NATO airspace. Mr. Starmer has been at pains not to criticize Mr. Trump’s stance on international issues, but Britain has diverged from U.S. policy on the war in Gaza, promising to recognize a Palestinian state unless the Israeli government changes course.

 

Stephen Castle is a London correspondent of The Times, writing widely about Britain, its politics and the country’s relationship with Europe.