President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump were treated to full royal honors in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, riding by carriage to Windsor Castle and welcomed by King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The president and first lady’s carriage was escorted into the Windsor Castle courtyard by British military servicemen on horseback. A total of 1,300 servicemen and 120 horses took part in the welcoming ceremony, The New York Post reported. The pageantry will also include a joint U.S.-U.K. military flyover.
WHAT A SIGHT! Carriages for @POTUS, @FLOTUS, and Their Majesties arrive at Windsor Castle in a remarkable welcome for the unprecedented second state visit of President Donald J. Trump 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/NAgxH5XAia
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 17, 2025
As the Trumps arrived at the historic castle, the “Star-Spangled Banner” was played.
The Star-Spangled Banner is played for @POTUS and @FLOTUS upon their arrival at Windsor Castle with Their Majesties. 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/4wcie2Nt3L
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 17, 2025
After being greeted by the king, Trump also took part in the inspection of the Guard of Honor.
.@POTUS and His Majesty The King proceed with the Inspection of the Guard of Honor at Windsor Castle
🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Z4Ox6bnd4q
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 17, 2025
The visit on Wednesday marks the second time Trump has been welcomed to the U.K., following his official state visit in June 2019. Trump is the first U.S. president ever invited to Britain for a second state visit.
The Trumps are scheduled to dine with the royal family at a banquet at Windsor Castle later on Wednesday. Before the banquet, Trump and the first lady will visit St. George’s Chapel and lay a wreath at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II. On Thursday, Trump is expected to meet with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate, where the two leaders will sign multiple tech and energy deals and hold a press conference.
“My relationship is very good with the U.K., and Charles, as you know, who’s now king, is my friend,” Trump said on Tuesday before departing the White House.
.@POTUS and @FLOTUS, together with Their Majesties, make their way into Windsor Castle.🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/u9gzZ2rr8o
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 17, 2025
Trump’s U.K. state visit comes just days after more than 100,000 protesters filled the streets of London, led by Right-wing activist Tommy Robinson, calling for the British government to stop welcoming influxes of Muslim migrants. Protesters carried British flags and St. George’s red-and-white flag of England, chanting, “We want our country back!”
Trump has criticized Europe’s liberal immigration policies in the past, but he recently praised the U.K. for taking a “stronger stance.”
“On immigration, you better get your act together, or you’re not going to have Europe anymore,” Trump warned last month while in Scotland, adding, “You gotta stop the horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe, many countries in Europe.”
The president has also blasted European countries for relying on windmills for energy, arguing that they are ineffective and harming the continent’s natural beauty.
While Trump received a royal welcome at the castle, not everyone in the U.K. was happy to see the U.S. president. Some people gathered in London to protest Trump’s visit. The demonstrators carried anti-Trump and anti-Israel signs, while some waved Palestinian flags. On Tuesday night, activists projected images of the Trumps alongside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on the walls of Windsor Castle, the Associated Press reported. Four people were arrested.
British political commentator Piers Morgan, however, said that the anti-Trump protests in London and Windsor were significantly smaller than the protests that emerged during Trump’s 2019 visit.
“Barely any anti-Trump protests in Windsor or London… very different mood to his last state visit, and very revealing about changing attitudes to the President second time round,” Morgan wrote on social media.
