Great Britain is set to roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump this week, honouring the president of the United States with something no other American leader has ever received: a second state visit.
Trump is set to arrive in London late on Tuesday for a visit that coincides with tough trade negotiations between the US and many of its key trading partners, including the United Kingdom. During his stay, both countries plan to announce several deals on technology and civil nuclear energy, and British leaders hope to finalise an agreement on metal tariffs.
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Trump and his wife, Melania, will be treated to royal pageantry throughout their two-day stay, including a ceremonial welcome from King Charles at Windsor Castle. The British government is confident that royal soft power will appeal to Trump’s sense of flamboyance.
Before setting off on Tuesday, Trump said he was looking forward to meeting with his friend, King Charles III, whom he described as an “elegant gentleman”.
The president said being welcomed for a second state visit was a first, and noted how it was planned for Windsor Castle, rather than Buckingham Palace.
“I don’t want to say one is better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate,” the president added, noting that much of his trip will be focused on trade.
The state visit will include a glittering banquet and a procession in a horse-drawn carriage. For his part, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer hopes Trump’s visit will offer a measure of distraction from simmering speculation about his leadership amid plummeting approval ratings and high-profile resignations.
Lord Mandelson’s recent sacking as UK ambassador to the US, following new revelations concerning his friendship with child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has already cast a diplomatic pall over Trump’s visit. The president’s own links to Epstein have also generated plenty of headlines in recent weeks.
When and where
Trump will officially be welcomed to the UK on Tuesday evening by US Ambassador Warren Stephens, British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Viscount Hood, the king’s lord-in-waiting. On Wednesday morning, the royal activities will begin, with a formal greeting by the king and Queen Camilla, along with Prince William and Princess Catherine, at Windsor Castle. Later that day, he will enjoy a royal salute at the castle and a flypast from the Red Arrows and the carriage procession.
The president will then be treated to lunch with the extended royal family before laying a wreath at Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb in St George’s Chapel.
On Wednesday night, Trump will be the guest of honour at a formal state banquet at the castle.
The president will bid farewell to the royals on Thursday morning before he meets Starmer.
Trade tops agenda
Starmer will host Trump at Chequers, his country residence, on Thursday to discuss various matters, including security in Ukraine. Starmer’s ultimate aim, however, is to ensure that Trump makes good on his promise to lower tariffs on steel and aluminium.
A view of Chequers, the official country residence of the UK prime minister, near Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire [File: Peter Nicholls/Reuters]
The UK was the first country to sign a bilateral trade agreement with the Trump administration in May. Under that deal, the US planned to reduce tariffs on aluminium and steel from 25 percent to zero, but that has not happened yet.
“When it comes to steel, we will make sure that we have an announcement as soon as possible,” Business Secretary Peter Kyle told the BBC on Sunday. Other ministers have expressed optimism that a deal on base metals can be secured during Trump’s visit.
The two countries are also expected to sign a multibillion-dollar deal to develop small nuclear projects, which could, in some cases, help to power new artificial intelligence data centres. On Monday, Starmer announced a joint US-UK project to build a fleet of small modular reactors.
“The UK-US relationship is the strongest in the world,” a representative from Starmer’s office told reporters. “This week, we are delivering a step change in that relationship.”
Investment deals?
A major talking point will be a new potential technology partnership, involving enhanced US investment in the UK and greater British cooperation with Silicon Valley on AI and quantum computing.
That had been Lord Mandelson’s priority and something he described in his outgoing letter to embassy staff last week as his “personal pride and joy” that he claimed would “help write the next chapter of the special relationship” between the US and the UK. Mandelson’s permanent replacement has yet to be named, but James Roscoe is serving as interim ambassador to the US.
Nvidia, OpenAI and Google are expected to announce investment deals as part of the partnership, according to the Reuters news agency. Meanwhile, the British government recently secured 1.25 billion pounds ($1.7bn) in private investment pledges from PayPal and Bank of America.
Elsewhere, private equity firm Blackstone plans to invest 100 billion pounds ($136bn) into British assets over the next decade, with a focus on physical infrastructure. The investment will be part of a previously announced $500bn package of investment into Europe.
Why is this trip significant?
This is Trump’s second visit to the UK in the last two months, following his trip to Scotland in July, but this week marks his second state visit, which no other US president has ever enjoyed. In 2019, Trump was hosted for a state visit by Queen Elizabeth II.
The timing is not ideal. Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the US on September 11, after emails were published that revealed he urged Epstein to fight for early release from prison in 2008.
Trump’s friendship with Epstein has also exposed him to damaging scrutiny, including from his support base. Democrats in the House of Representatives recently released a birthday letter he allegedly wrote to Epstein in 2003, which Trump has denied writing.
For his part, Starmer hopes the pomp of a state visit will offer cover for his own domestic challenges, including criticism about him proscribing the Palestine Action group as a “terror organisation”.
Following missteps on welfare reform, a slapdash cabinet reshuffle and poor economic growth, several lawmakers are increasingly questioning Starmer’s judgement, especially with Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK party surging ahead in the polls.
Starmer’s main goal will be to champion any wins secured during Trump’s visit.
But the president’s stay will also face challenges as local protests are expected in opposition to Trump’s stay at Windsor Castle.
Members of the public walk along the Long Walk in Windsor Great Park, outside of Windsor Castle, west of London [File: Adrian Dennis/AFP]
The prime minister will also try to convince Trump that Russia’s incursion of 20 drones into Polish airspace last Wednesday was not an accident, as Trump has suggested.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski rejected that theory on September 12 during a news conference in Kyiv. “We don’t believe in 20 mistakes at the same time,” he said.
Finally, Starmer’s spokesperson said there would also be announcements on deepening cultural ties, including promoting basketball in the UK and developing partnerships between heritage and art institutions.
