LONDON — King Charles III greeted President Donald Trump with great pomp and circumstance at Windsor Castle on Wednesday afternoon for the opening of his second state visit.
Trump is the first foreign leader to receive a second state visit invitation from the Crown.
The president and first lady Melania Trump landed at London Stansted Airport late on Tuesday, spending the night at Winfield House, the U.S. ambassador’s residence in the United Kingdom. The pair departed for Windsor, via Marine One, around 11:45 a.m. local time and touched down at the royal castle just before 12:14 p.m., where they were greeted by Prince William and Princess Katherine of Wales.
Next, the Trumps were personally welcomed by Charles and Queen Camilla, and an accompanying 41-gun salute fired from the castle, before the president and the king loaded into a black carriage, trimmed in gold, and were transported into the Windsor quadrangle for a military ceremony featuring British “beefeater” soldiers sporting the iconic scarlet uniforms and tall, black bearskin hats.
As the carriage proceeded clockwise through the quadrangle, the military band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” followed by “God Save the King.”
Trump and Charles soon exited the carriage before joining the first lady and the queen on a raised dais. The president saluted as the band played “The Star-Spangled Banner” for a second time, before joining Charles for an inspection of the royal honor guard, with the president walking just a few feet in front of the king.
Following the inspection, Trump and Charles returned to the dais to observe the departure of the military detachments. The last to leave were the bagpipe-playing Scots Guards, an apparent nod to the president’s mother, who was Scottish. Furthermore, according to the British press, Wednesday’s honor guard featured troops from three British regiments, compared to just two regiments at French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Windsor earlier this year.
Several U.S. officials were also in attendance at the ceremony, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, special envoy Steve Witkoff, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, communications director Steven Cheung, special assistant Margo Martin, and staff secretary Will Scharf.
The Trumps will have a private lunch with the king and queen before the public portion of Trump’s visit continues later this afternoon, capped by a lavish banquet in the evening.
You can watch the ceremony in full below:
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