WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump this week will embark to the United Kingdom to take part in his second state visit — a multi-day event fit with military bands, a carriage ride and the king and queen — that both sides have flaunted as “historic.”
What You Need To Know
President Donald Trump this week will embark to the United Kingdom to take part in his second state visit, a multi-day event fit with military bands, a carriage ride and the king and queen, that both sides have flaunted as “historic”
The president and first lady Melania Trump are set to arrive in the UK on Tuesday ahead of a full day of festivities expected to be packed with pageantry at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, according to U.S. officials; More formal government and policy talks are set to take place at the prime minister’s country estate on Thursday, U.S. officials added
It will mark Trump’s second time receiving such an honor after taking part in one during his first term in 2019 when the late Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne and the first time any world leader has done so twice
While the visit is expected to be pumped full of pomp and ceremony, it will also bring important talks on trade and economic announcements, according to U.S. officials, and comes during turbulent times in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza
The president and first lady Melania Trump are set to arrive in the U.K. on Tuesday ahead of a full day of festivities expected to be packed with pageantry at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, according to U.S. officials. More formal government and policy talks are set to take place at the prime minister’s country estate on Thursday, U.S. officials added.
It will mark Trump’s second time receiving such an honor after taking part in one during his first term in 2019 when the late Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne and the first time any world leader has done so twice. The Royal Family notes the king typically hosts only two state visits at Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle each year.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand delivered the letter from King Charles III inviting Trump for such a visit during his first sit-down in the Oval Office in February as he looked to build a working relationship with the newly returned U.S. leader.
“This is really special, this has never happened before, this is unprecedented,” Starmer said after presenting the letter to his U.S. counterpart.
Trump, who has at times has noted his Scottish-born mother’s interest in the Royal Family and owns property in Scotland, responded in the Oval Office by calling the letter a “great, great honor” and the king a “beautiful” and “wonderful” man.
“And that says at Windsor,” Trump said of the letter. “That’s really something.”
Since then, in the face of clear political differences — Trump once quipped that his British counterpart was “slightly more liberal than I am, to put it mildly” — the two have appeared to build a solid relationship.
The visit is expected to appeal to Trump’s draw to decadence. Earlier this summer at his golf club in Scotland, the U.S. president acknowledged to Starmer during a meeting that “nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and ceremony.”
While the visit is expected to be pumped full of it, it will also bring important talks on trade and economic announcements, according to U.S. officials, and comes during turbulent times in the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
“This visit gives the President the opportunity to strengthen ties with a particularly close partner and ally, while advancing mutual economic and foreign policy interests,” a senior U.S. official told reporters.
Among those making the trip with the president and first lady are Secretary Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and chief of staff Susie Wiles, a U.S. official said.
Festivities
Senior U.S. officials told reporters that the president and first lady will be greeted upon arrival Tuesday by the Viscount Hood, Lord-in-Waiting U.S. Ambassador Warren Stephens. The main events will take place Wednesday, when the pair will be welcomed on the grounds of Windsor Castle by the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, who will then accompany them to meet their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The Trumps will then take part in a lunch and privately lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II in St. George’s Chapel before viewing a Beating Retreat ceremony on Windsor Castle’s East Lawn that Starmer, along with British and U.S. military families, are also expected to attend, U.S. officials said. The night will close out with a glitzy State Banquet, where Trump and the king will deliver speeches, according to the Royal Family.
Buckingham Palace has also said the visit will feature a carriage procession, a ceremonial welcome and a flyover of F-35 fighter jets and Red Arrows.
On Thursday, the president will travel to the British prime ministers’ country estate of Chequers. Trump will sit down for a meeting with Starmer and take part in a business reception, which a senior U.S. official said is expected to be attended by several CEOs of U.S. technology companies.
Economic talks
Trump and Starmer are expected to use the visit to highlight investments in a new science and technology partnership designed to bolster both countries’ technology industries, a U.S. official said. They will also make announcements related to research and development on civil nuclear power as well as defense technology cooperation.
The U.S. and U.K. cemented their economic ties when they announced a new trade deal in early May, although with some details still to be announced. It marked the first deal of its kind for the U.S. in the wake of Trump’s initial country-specific tariffs announcement that was paused and then implemented again.
And ahead of the visit, the U.K. announced new nuclear power deals with the U.S.
Wars still raging
The trip also comes amid a number of significant developments on the world stage pertaining to the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Trump over the weekend, declared he was ready to place “major Sanctions” on Russia if NATO countries all do the same and stop buying oil from the country in a post on Truth Social in which he also referred to the war as belonging to former President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with no mention of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who launched the invasion in 2022.
It came just days after Russia appeared to raise the stakes of the more than 3-year-old war when it violated Polish airspace, as NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte noted, leading allies in the military alliance to jump in to help defend NATO territory.
Trump has been trying for months to help facilitate an end to the war as European allies like Starmer have stressed to the U.S. leader their stance on the importance of standing by Ukraine.
Starmer was among the European leaders who rushed to the White House last month to join Trump and Zelenskyy for talks in the wake of the U.S. president’s closely-watched summit with Putin in Alaska days earlier.
Trump emerged from those meetings saying he would help set up a face-to-face between Zelenskyy and Putin but so far that has not come to fruition.
The meeting also follows Israel’s strike against Hamas in the capital of Qatar, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, which drew criticism from the Trump administration. As Israel’s campaign in the Gaza Strip continues, Britain has announced its intent to recognize a Palestinian state if certain conditions aren’t met, a move the Trump administration has not backed.
In doing so, the U.K. would be joining France, which said it will recognize a Palestinian state at this month’s United Nations General Assembly in New York, which Trump is set to attend next week.
