LONDON, SEP 17 (DNA) — US President Donald Trump formally begins his unprecedented second state visit to Britain on Wednesday, with the royal pomp a grand veneer to key diplomatic talks and as difficult questions about Jeffrey Epstein linger.
King Charles and the royal family rolled out the red carpet for the president when he arrived at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, with a carriage procession, gun salutes, a military flypast and a lavish banquet.
Britain says it was the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory. Trump, an overt royal fan, has made little secret of his delight at being not just the first US leader, but the first elected politician to be invited by a British monarch for two visits. “I Love King Charles,” he posted on his Truth Social account in February.
On his arrival, he said of Britain: “It’s a very special place.” UK hopes visit will cement ‘special relationship’ Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping to use that sentiment to Britain’s advantage as his government seeks to use the trip to cement the two nations’ “special relationship”, deepen economic ties, secure billions of dollars of investment, discuss tariffs and press the US president on Ukraine.
The visit has already delivered a new technology pact between the two countries with companies from Microsoft to Nvidia, Google and OpenAI pledging 31 billion pounds ($42bn) in British investments over the next few years, in AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy. Starmer also wants further progress on tariffs.
“Basically, I’m there also on trade. They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a littlebit,” Trump said when he left the White House for Britain on Tuesday. “They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal, so we’ll talk to them.”
While security for the visit was tight, with a massive police operation in place in Windsor and 1,600 officers deployed in London to deal with a demonstration by the “Stop the Trump Coalition”, protesters pulled off a stunt in Windsor.
Police said four people were arrested for malicious communications on Tuesday after images of Trump alongside late sex offender Epstein were projected on to one of Windsor Castle’s towers. Trump was not in Windsor at the time.Starmer last week sacked Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador in Washington over his ties to Epstein, which could lead to awkward questions for Starmer and Trump, whose own relationship with the financier has also come under scrutiny.
London commuters had mixed views about Trump’s state visit on Wednesday morning, with some angry about the invitation and others saying it was smart politics and a good use of Britain’s soft power.“We’re looking to sort of make the best of a bad situation,” lawyer Kirstie Robertshaw, 54, said. — DNA
