Here’s what to expect during Trump’s U.K. visit.
President Trump and his wife, Melania, arrived Tuesday night in Britain for a two-day state visit, hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla. It is Mr. Trump’s second state visit, an unusual honor.
When do the events begin?
On Wednesday, a guard of honor will greet the Trumps as they arrive around midday at Windsor Castle, a royal home and fortress for more than 900 years. They will have lunch with the royal family, and 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.
There will also be a military event known as Beating Retreat, a colorful display of music and drill.
On Wednesday evening, a traditional white-tie banquet will be held in Windsor Castle, where Mr. Trump and King Charles will give speeches.
What happens Thursday?
On Thursday, the president will travel to Chequers, the official country residence of Britain’s Prime Minister, Keir Starmer. They are expected to visit the Winston Churchill archives at Chequers and join a business reception.
Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer are also expected to hold a joint news conference on Thursday.
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 protests planned?
Yes. On Wednesday, organizers have scheduled a demonstration in London culminating in a march to Parliament Square.
But the state visit program has been designed to limit security risks, as well as minimize 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.
Protesters unveil visual stunts aimed at highlighting Trump’s ties to Epstein.
British activists upset about President Trump’s state visit this week protested his arrival by projecting a picture of Mr. Trump with Jeffrey Epstein on the walls of Windsor Castle and unrolling a massive banner of the picture on the castle’s grassy lawn.
The president and Melania Trump, the first lady, arrived in London on Tuesday night. They are scheduled to spend Wednesday at Windsor Castle, hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla. Mr. Trump will also meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence, Chequers, on Thursday.
Police intervened to stop both political stunts quickly and made arrests over the projection. Representatives of the group behind the banner said they had achieved their goal of seeking to embarrass the president by noting his one-time friendship with the convicted sex trafficker.
The banner was created by the group Everyone Hates Elon, which was behind similar protests in Britain against Elon Musk, the billionaire tech mogul.
Mr. Trump’s trip this week to Britain, where he is broadly unpopular, has also spurred a television special by Channel 4, a public broadcaster, aimed at fact-checking questionable claims that he made as president, as well as a planned demonstration in the streets of London on Wednesday.
His first state visit in 2019 drew large crowds of protesters offering a similar sentiment: He is unwelcome in Britain.
Mr. Trump has in recent months struggled to evade the public’s scrutiny over his ties to Mr. Epstein, who was arrested on charges of sex trafficking in 2019 before dying in prison. Lawmakers recently released documents showing the financier’s association to Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly referred to the Epstein case as a “hoax.”
The banner rolled out by Everyone Hates Elon was about 65 feet long and 65 feet wide. It was paid for by about 2,000 crowdsourced donors, the spokeswoman said.
The images of Mr. Trump and Mr. Epstein were apparently projected onto the towers of Windsor Castle by a different group called Led By Donkeys, who have performed similar stunts in the past. The images were also posted to the group’s Instagram account.
Felicity Parker, the chief superintendent of the Thames Valley Police, said in a statement that officers had “responded swiftly to stop the projection” and arrested four people on suspicion of malicious communications, a low-level offense.
On the first day of Mr. Trump’s state visit on Wednesday, protesters were expected to gather in London and march to Parliament Square.
On Wednesday night, Channel 4 was scheduled to air over several hours a reel of what it called the “untruths, falsehoods and distortions” that Mr. Trump has spoken since January, punctuated by fact checks.
“We hope it will remind viewers how disorientating and dangerous the world becomes when the most powerful man on earth shows little regard for the truth,” Ian Katz, Channel 4’s chief content officer, said in a statement.
U.S. tech companies are expected to announce billions in new British deals during Trump’s visit.
President Trump’s visit to Britain this week is being used by some of America’s biggest tech companies to announce more than $40 billion in investments for artificial intelligence, data centers and other new technologies.
Microsoft said it would invest about $30 billion in Britain over four years, including developing a new supercomputer with the British company Nscale. Google said it was opening a new data center as part of a two-year investment worth about $6.8 billion. OpenAI and the semiconductor company Nvidia are developing a new A.I. data center called Stargate UK with Nscale.
Mr. Trump’s two-day state visit, hosted by King Charles III, is following a similar script as his May trip to the Persian Gulf. In the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Trump met with government officials and members of their royal families while helping forge business deals involving American tech companies.
Mr. Trump is expected to be joined in Britain by tech executives, including Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Sam Altman of OpenAI.
This week’s deals strengthen the economic and technological ties between the United States and Britain three months after the countries reached a trade deal. The agreement “marks a generational step change in our relationship with the U.S.,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain said in a statement.
Microsoft, Google and others have been expanding in Europe even as countries in the region become more concerned about dependence on American tech companies for key services. European officials have sought assurances from American firms about the protection of data and the storage of information in data centers in Europe.
British officials said the announcements this week will help create 5,000 jobs and expand research in areas like A.I., quantum computing, drug discovery and nuclear energy. The deals will bring Britain about 120,000 of Nvidia’s advanced semiconductors that are needed for A.I. development, which the government said will be the biggest supply in Europe to date.
Security plans for Trump’s visit are the biggest since the coronation of King Charles III.
The authorities in Britain have been preparing the biggest protective security operation since the 2023 coronation of King Charles III for President Trump’s state visit, deploying drones, snipers, mounted police and boat teams in the River Thames.
While any visit by a foreign head of state to Britain requires significant policing preparations, experts said that the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in Utah last week, as well as the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump last year, has intensified the consideration of potential threats.
Mr. Trump arrived in London on Tuesday evening, and is expected to attend a series of events with the royal family at Windsor Castle, west of London, on Wednesday. He will spend Thursday with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence.
The British police confirmed in a news briefing on Monday that Mr. Trump would be kept away from public spaces during the state visit.
“Both the Windsor visit and meeting at Chequers are in the private grounds of Windsor and Chequers, respectively,” said Christian Bunt, assistant chief constable for the Thames Valley Police, which is overseeing the visit. “So there will be no public-facing element.”
Simon Morgan, a former Metropolitan Police royalty protection officer, said that Mr. Kirk’s assassination would cause the officials planning the operation to “double down” on efforts to ensure no position where a “shot could be taken” from was left open.
“They will be seeking to control every aspect of the space, both in terms of on the ground and in the air,” said Mr. Morgan, who was a firearms officer in the Metropolitan Police for more than a decade. He protected the royal family from 2006 to 2013 and now runs a private security company.
Armed police from across England and Wales, where only 4 percent of officers are authorized to carry firearms, are being sent to London and Windsor to bolster the ranks of local forces during the trip.
How the British royal family — and its staff — prepare for a state visit.
The British royal family plays host to only two state visits a year, and one can see why, from the exhaustive preparations documented in a nine-minute video produced by Buckingham Palace for the royal family’s YouTube channel.
Twenty chefs cook 500 meals over a single day, including 160 for the state banquet. Dozens of soldiers, many mounted on horseback, rehearse processions for weeks in their barracks. Gardeners prune hedges, straightening flower beds and cutting blooms to create elaborate floral displays.
Groomsmen and women brush down the horses that will pull the carriage carrying King Charles III and President Trump to Windsor Castle. The royal librarian combs the archives to choose books and pictures that would appeal to Mr. Trump.
“Everything gets polished to an inch of its life,” said Charlotte Watson, a senior liveried helper in the Royal Mews. Her goal, she said, is for the horses to look “really fit, nice and supple, nice and soft, and relaxed.”
The same can’t be said for the household staff. They must submit their work for inspection to the king and his wife, Queen Camilla, who are shown peering intently, if wordlessly, at a lavishly set table.
“We make choices and suggestions, and their majesties will make the ultimate decision,” said Mark Flanagan, the royal chef. The season plays a part in determining which dishes are served, he said, as well as the flowers on the table.
The royal family makes a nod to the nationality of its guests. In Mr. Trump’s case, that will mean an American flavor in the meals and an emphasis on the shared history of Britain and its former colony, especially when Charles shows him the items curated by the librarian.
The images in the video were drawn from the state visit of President Emmanuel Macron of France last July. The French tricolor hangs on lampposts, next to the Union Jack, and French themes show up in the food and floral arrangements.
It’s a reminder that the last state visit was barely two months ago. For all their good humor in the video, it’s a good bet the staff members are exhausted.
Update from Mark Landler
Helicopters carrying President Trump and his retinue just landed at Windsor Castle after traveling from Winfield House, the official London residence of the American ambassador. The skies are overcast and it’s drizzling, none of which is a good sign for a fly-over that King Charles III plans for the president later in the day. Red Arrow aerobatic jets and F-35 fighters are scheduled to fly over the castle, but only if weather permits.
Update from Mark Landler
It’s a particular thrill for President Trump to be greeted by Prince William and his wife, Catherine, Princess of Wales. When the president met William at the dedication of Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris in 2024, he was beguiled, telling The New York Post: “He’s a good-looking guy. He looked really, very handsome last night. Some people look better in person? He looked great.”
Update from Mark Landler
Well, we’re off. President Trump and King Charles have begun the ceremonial carriage procession. They are riding in the Irish State Coach. Queen Camilla and First Lady Melania Trump are riding behind them in the Scottish State Coach.
Update from Maggie Haberman
The American national anthem is being played as the carriage is on the move.
Update from Mark Landler
Queen Camilla’s presence is worth noting. She pulled out of a royal funeral for the Duchess of Kent on Tuesday, after contracting sinusitis. The palace says she will be on hand for the full schedule of events today.
Update from Maggie Haberman
It’s hard to overstate how much President Trump had been looking forward to this visit, long before he and his extended circle were rocked by the assassination of Charlie Kirk last week. Trump loves the pomp and often recounds how his mother was a royals-watcher.
Update from Mark Landler
When President Emmanuel Macron of France arrived for his state visit in July, his carriage procession passed through the streets of Windsor. This time, it is within the walls of the Windsor estate. One possible explanation: no exposure to protesters.
Update from Vanessa Friedman
Melania Trump is wearing a dark gray Dior couture skirt suit and — another hat! Hats are becoming something of a signature look for the first lady. This one, like the hat she wore to the inauguration, partly shields her eyes.
Update from Mark Landler
For those who remember the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022, the images of the Windsor estate might be familiar. Her coffin was carried to the castle, before her body was interred in St. George’s Chapel in the castle complex. Trump will lay a wreath there later.
Update from Vanessa Friedman
Catherine, Princess of Wales, is known for her penchant for dressing her family in coordinating looks for major public appearances. This time around, she is wearing a burgundy coat, hat and dress, and it looks as though Prince William is wearing a matching tie. Unexpectedly, it is almost the same color as President Trump’s tie and very close to the color of Mrs. Trump’s hat. It’s probably a coincidence, but as the couples walk side by side, it presents a neat picture of unity.
Update from Mark Landler
President Trump is being formally welcomed by a guard of honor representing three colors: the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards. The three colors have never been assembled for a state visit, another sign of how the royal family is laying it on for the president.
Update from Maggie Haberman
As the star-spangled banner is played once again, President Trump is saluting.
Update from Shawn McCreesh
President Trump is walking the grounds, inspecting the beefeaters, smiling at them and nodding as the king follows a half-step behind. Judging by the expression on his face, the president is quite entertained.
Update from Maggie Haberman
President Trump has mentioned to reporters several times how unique it is to be hosted at a state dinner at Windsor Castle. It is a mark of how deeply European leaders are trying to find ways to keep him from feeling slighted. And while Trump went on an early-morning social media tear alleging he and his allies were victims of a weaponized justice system through federal investigations, he has so far been quiet about British politics and concerns about immigration in the United Kingdom, in contrast to his angry posts as he entered the U.K. in 2019 for his first state visit.
Update from Mark Landler
President Trump is now inspecting the honor guard. In 2019, during his last state visit, this is the moment where Trump stepped in front of Queen Elizabeth, in what was then called a protocol violation. Palace officials later said Trump had not done anything wrong. This one looks smoother.
Update from Shawn McCreesh
It’s impossible to know what he is saying, but President Trump’s mouth has hardly stopped moving since he and King Charles III started on their walk, inspecting the honor guard. Whatever it is that Trump is saying, King Charles looks amused. The two men keep laughing.
Update from Maggie Haberman
The cadences here seem so much less awkward than they did in 2019, although the royals insisted that President Trump did not break with protocol in a few moments that went viral that year.
Update from Vanessa Friedman
Melania Trump has on her usual Manolo Blahnik stilettos, which must make navigating the pebbled driveway in front of the palace a somewhat complicated endeavor. Queen Camilla, by contrast, is wearing flats.
Update from Mark Landler
Windsor Castle has been the site of two state visits this year: today’s, and the one for President Emmanuel Macron of France. Trump said recently it was another singular gesture by the royal family. In fact, Buckingham Palace is in the midst of a decade-long refurbishment.
Here’s the latest.
President Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, were greeted by the British royal family on Wednesday at Windsor Castle outside London, beginning a two-day state visit swaddled in the kind of pomp and grandeur that so thrills this president.
The state visit is part of an effort by the British government to engage with a president who has returned to office less interested than ever in maintaining the post-World War II order. The fact that Mr. Trump has been invited to Britain for a second state visit — after his first in 2019 — is itself a rare diplomatic gesture that no other American president has enjoyed.
The Trumps traveled by helicopter from London to Windsor, where they were received by King Charles III. Mr. Trump and the King rode in a horse-drawn carriage through the Windsor estate as Queen Camilla and Mrs. Trump followed in a separate carriage. The state dinner at the 900-year-old castle will take place Wednesday night. A number of Trump officials, friends and allies have traveled to England to attend.
Before the banquet begins, Mr. and Mrs. Trump are expected to visit St. George’s Chapel to lay a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. The Trumps plan to spend the night at Windsor Castle before the president meets with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.
“My relationship is very good with the U.K., and Charles, as you know, who’s now king, is my friend,” Mr. Trump said from the south lawn of the White House on Tuesday morning before departing for Britain. “And it’s the first time this has ever happened where somebody was honored twice, so it’s a great honor.”
Evidently, he was charmed by the choice of venue. “They say Windsor Castle is the ultimate, right?” he asked. (Buckingham Palace, where his first state visit took place, is undergoing renovations.)
Here’s what else to know:
- Two-day visit: After the royal extravaganza on Wednesday, the president is scheduled to travel to Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate, on Thursday to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. The two leaders are expected to sign a handful of deals, and to hold a joint news conference.
- U.K. upheaval: Over the weekend, the anti-immigrant agitator Tommy Robinson led a protest of more than 100,000 people through London — one of the largest far-right demonstrations in Britain’s history. Mr. Trump’s former adviser, Elon Musk, who has repeatedly amplified Mr. Robinson on social media, delivered a virtual address to the demonstrators in which he called for a change in government and used alarmist rhetoric about immigration, telling Britons: “Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you.” Mr. Starmer condemned the remarks.
- Epstein ties: Though Mr. Trump might have hoped to leave behind the political tensions at home, the drama over the deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will simmer in the background on his trip. British activists protested Mr. Trump’s arrival on Tuesday by projecting a picture of the president with Mr. Epstein onto the walls of Windsor Castle and unrolling a massive banner of the picture on the castle’s lawn. Last week, Mr. Starmer fired his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his ties to Mr. Epstein. Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Starmer were expected to face questions about the ongoing Epstein saga.