Updated September 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM EDT
WINDSOR, England / LONDON – President Trump and first lady Melania Trump visited the royal family at Windsor Castle on Wednesday for a state visit the British government is using to try to bolster the trade and security relationship between the two countries.
Trump and King Charles capped off the day with toasts at an opulent state banquet with 160 guests. Earlier, Prince William and Princess Catherine greeted the president and first lady, joining them on a procession around the Windsor Castle grounds featuring dozens of horses and gilded carriages.
The spectacle came ahead of a day to be spent handling policy matters, but the two parts of the trip go hand in hand as the British government leverages Trump's admiration for the monarchy as it tries to influence him on policy around topics including trade and Ukraine.
Trump has long been fascinated by the royal family, telling interviewers over the years how his mother loved Queen Elizabeth.
Earlier this year, when Trump met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, he called King Charles "a great guy — a great person" and said he looked forward to the state visit. "I hate to say, but nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and ceremony," Trump said.
The king gave Trump the Union flag that flew above Buckingham Palace on the day of Trump's second inauguration. Trump gave the king a replica of a President Eisenhower sword, harkening to the U.S.-U.K. partnership during World War II.
The royals toured the Trumps through a special display of historical items from the Royal Collection, including a 1774 letter from King George III about the rebellion in the American colonies, and an 1862 letter from President Abraham Lincoln to Queen Victoria after the death of her husband, Prince Albert.
In speeches at the state banquet Wednesday night, the king emphasized the long partnership between the two nations.
"I cannot help but wonder what our forebears from 1776 would make of this friendship today," he said. "We celebrate a relationship between our two countries that surely neither Washington nor King George III could possibly have imagined. The ocean may still divide us, but in so many other ways we are now the closest of kin."
Trump also addressed the two countries' closeness but also spoke at length about his admiration for the royal family, adding that he considered the visit "truly one of the highest honors of my life."
He also slipped into a more familiar register for part of the speech, implying that he had saved the United States after the Biden era. "We had a very sick country one year ago and today, I believe we're the hottest country anywhere in the world. In fact, nobody's even questioning it, but we owe so much of that to you and the footing that you gave us when we started."
On Thursday, Trump is slated to head to Chequers, the prime minister's country residence, to meet with Starmer. They are expected to sign what the countries are calling a Tech Prosperity Deal. The U.K. government announced that several U.S.-based tech companies, including NVIDIA, Microsoft and Google, will be investing more than $40 billion in the U.K.
The leaders are expected to talk about Russia-Ukraine policy. There has been no movement on a peace deal since Starmer and other European leaders visited the White House earlier this year to pressure Trump to assist Ukraine more. In recent days, Trump has said that it's up to NATO allies to first stop buying Russian oil.
Not everyone is giving Trump a warm welcome. Protests began even before Trump arrived in the U.K. and polls show more than 60% of Britons have an unfavorable view of Trump.
Earlier this week, on the lawn outside Windsor Castle, protesters unfurled a giant photo of Trump and the late Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and sex offender. Four people were arrested after videos of Trump and Epstein were projected onto the outer walls of Windsor Castle. Demonstrators were also expected to march in Windsor and London.
Lynn Iliffe, a retired National Health Service worker, drove to Windsor from the English Midlands with a big protest sign in the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.
"I've never been to a demonstration in my life before, but I felt so strongly that I felt I needed to come down and show my dislike for Mr. Trump," Iliffe told NPR, describing how she felt during Trump's contentious meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office earlier this year.
"I just feel really angry about so many of the things he does — his lies, his craze for power, and the way he's treated everybody really around the world," she said.
But Alana Burnett, a college student from Windsor, donned a red MAGA ballcap, telling NPR she supported Trump's tough immigration policies.
"I just think he's such a great man, I like his policies and views on things, and I think our country could take a few notes from him, really," Burnett said.
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