Prince William and Kate Middleton are set to play a major role in the impending US state visit to Britain, which will see Donald Trump and Melania stay at Windsor Castle from September 17 to 18—and include a joint engagement for the first lady and the Princess of Wales with the Scouts at Frogmore Gardens.
The Trumps are slated to arrive at Windsor Castle on the morning of the 17th, where they will be officially greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales. The quartet will then meet King Charles and Queen Camilla, who will receive the Trumps for a Royal Salute, fired from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle at the same time as a salute from the Tower of London. Their Majesties, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the President and First Lady will then make a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the Castle, which was also the site for French president Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Britain this summer.
Both nations’ anthems will play as the Procession moves off. In a historical move, a Guard of Honour will be presented at the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, featuring the State Colours of the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, and the Scots Guards. This will mark the first time that such an occasion will feature three State Colours—typically, just one would be showcased at the parade. The President and the King will then inspect the Guard of Honour, followed by a Rank and March past The King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery, the Household Cavalry and the Foot Guards.
The Trumps joined King Charles and Queen Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall, for a dinner at Winfield House, the residence of the US Ambassador, where US President Trump stayed on his 2019 state visit
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Then, lunch will commence in the State Dining Room, with various members of the Royal family. The party will attend a special display of America-related items from the Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room. In a solemn moment, later that afternoon Trump is set to privately pay homage to the late Queen Elizabeth—whom he has previously described as a “grand and beautiful lady”—by laying a wreath on her tomb at St George’s Chapel.
King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Trumps will then be joined by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Lady Starmer for a Beating Retreat ceremony on Windsor’s East Lawn, featuring a flypast by UK and US F-35 military jets and the Red Arrows. The visit will culminate in a state banquet at the Castle—and if the French state visit was anything to go by, it will be a dazzling display of tiaras and royal jewels for Middleton and Queen Camilla. Both the King and President Trump will deliver speeches at the beginning of the dinner.