President Trump and first lady Melania Trump have returned to the United Kingdom for a rare second state visit.
On Wednesday, the Trumps capped their first full day in Britain with a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, about 20 miles west of London. Earlier, they met with the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate, and laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. They also observed a state military ceremony, complete with a flyover from the U.K. Air Force’s Red Arrows aerial acrobatics jets.
Noting that he was “the first American president welcomed” to the U.K. for two state visits — and for any state visit at Windsor Castle — Trump told banquet guests that the experience was a “singular privilege” and one of the greatest honors of his life.
Maybe it will be the last time this happens, Trump added — before admitting, to laughter, “I hope it is, actually.”
Queen Elizabeth previously hosted Trump for a state visit during his first term, in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police estimated that about 5,000 people participated in anti-Trump demonstrations in central London on Wednesday. Large-scale images of Trump and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were projected onto the side of Windsor Castle by an activist group just minutes after Trump landed in the U.K.
On Thursday, the president will meet with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Elsewhere, the first lady and the Princess of Wales are scheduled to make their first official joint appearance.
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