Trump's UK state visit begins with royal pomp and protests

Catherine Lucey, Kate Sullivan and Maddie Parker, Bloomberg News on Sep 17, 2025

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A royal carriage ride and more than a thousand U.K. service members greeted U.S. President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, kicking off a historic state visit that will be set against the backdrop of heightened global and domestic tensions.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump arrived by Marine One in the early afternoon to be greeted by King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Catherine with a royal salute. The group was quickly swept into horse-drawn carriages for a procession along a color guard-lined route to the castle.

The gilded Irish Stage Coach that the king and Trump rode in is customarily used for the State Opening of Parliament and was also used for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding, underscoring the scope of the British charm offensive. The first lady, wearing a distinctive wide-brimmed hat in maroon, followed with the queen in a second coach.

Trump, with Charles trailing slightly behind, walked through the Windsor quadrangle to inspect the troops, and a 41-gun salute and bagpipes echoed across the courtyard. Later, the party is expected to witness a military display, including a flyover of U.S. and U.K. F-35 aircraft, before a white-tie evening banquet featuring speeches from Trump and the king.

It will be the largest honor guard ever for a U.K. state visit. In total, 120 horses and 1,300 members of the British military will be involved in the ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle.

As he left the White House Tuesday, Trump said he had a very good relationship with the U.K. and called the visit a “great honor,” adding “they say Windsor Castle’s the ultimate, right?”

As he arrived in London, protests threatened to encroach on the ceremonies. Police arrested four men on suspicion of “malicious communications” after an image of Trump and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was projected onto Windsor Castle late on Tuesday. Separate protests are planned for central London Wednesday.

The day of pageantry will be followed by a day of diplomatic meetings with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in which the U.K. hopes to press Trump on trade terms and the war in Ukraine, though major breakthroughs are not expected. The U.K., for example, has shelved talks aimed at eliminating tariffs on British steel, scaling back its goals of bringing the levies on steel to zero, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Also on the agenda is an announcement on a British-American technology partnership, and an event with a number of tech executives at the prime minister’s country estate.

Microsoft Corp., OpenAI and other American companies announced plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on technology infrastructure in the U.K. on Tuesday. Trump is expected to announce more than $10 billion in new economic deals, as well as other efforts to align the nations’ financial sectors. British drugmaker GSK Plc pledged to invest $30 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.

The trip comes as Starmer is engulfed in domestic political turmoil, most notably with his dismissal of Peter Mandelson as the U.K.’s ambassador in Washington after the emergence of damaging emails detailing Mandelson’s links to Epstein.

The Epstein issue is one Starmer and Trump will likely both be eager to avoid. Trump has also faced questions over his past interactions with the late disgraced financier. He said he has nothing to hide in connection with Epstein, saying the two fell out decades ago.

Organizers from the Stop Trump Coalition are meanwhile expect to attract thousands of demonstrators to central London, with a round of speeches at Portland Place before a planned march to Parliament Square for a 5 p.m. rally. Scheduled speakers include the new leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, former Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn and the singer Billy Bragg. Local demonstrations are also planned in cities including Bristol, Cardiff, Liverpool and Manchester.

A mix of Trump opponents and supporters lined the streets outside Windsor as the president arrived, with a large police presence and vendors hawking Make America Great Again merchandise.

Hazel Pearson, a 66-year-old from Londonderry in Northern Ireland — who was donning a red Trump baseball cap — said she was there during Trump’s last visit and wanted to bring her daughter to experience the excitement.

“Why miss an opportunity to see Trump and to feel the buzz?” she said.

Elliot Smith, a 20-year-old demonstrator, said he was there to lodge his frustration with what he called Trump’s “ridiculous” trade and culture wars.

“I think our countries have been great allies and Trump shouldn’t be a reason to change that, but that doesn’t mean we have to get involved with every one of his issues,” he said.