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MANCHESTER, England (CN) — President Donald Trump began his second state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday, welcomed with royal pageantry at Windsor Castle while protesters massed in London.
Trump inspected an honor guard of soldiers in bearskin helmets and scarlet tunics before joining King Charles III for a carriage procession. First Lady Melania Trump joined Queen Camilla in another carriage.
He later laid a wreath at Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb and will attend the traditional state banquet at Windsor Castle in the evening, where both Trump and Charles are set to give speeches.
It is the first time a U.S. president has received a second state visit after Prime Minister Keir Starmer hand-delivered the invitation to Trump in the Oval Office during his visit to the White House earlier this year.
His first state visit was in 2019 when he was received by Queen Elizabeth II.
Colder reception outside the castle
Trump has been largely shielded from protesters outside Windsor Castle and further afield in central London.
Activist group Led by Donkeys projected an image of Trump with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein onto Windsor Castle on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, police stopped a van displaying the same image driving near the castle grounds.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan criticized Trump as the president’s plane was crossing the Atlantic, saying the president had “done more than anyone else” to fuel far-right politics around the globe.
Khan added that Trump’s treatment of minorities and use of troops in U.S. cities was “straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”
In central London, the Stop Trump UK coalition, a group of 50 organizations ranging from climate campaigners to pro-Palestinian activists, organized a march on Westminster.
Zack Polanski, the new populist leader of the Green Party, said before the march that Trump “comes to Britain seeking credibility and to whitewash his own complicity in the genocide unfolding in Gaza.”
Starmer to talk trade with Trump
Trump and Starmer will meet at Chequers, the prime minister’s country retreat, on Thursday for bilateral talks before holding a joint press conference.
The meeting comes at a difficult moment for Starmer. He dismissed his ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, last week after renewed scrutiny of his ties to Epstein, while Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner resigned the same week following a tax scandal.
The political turmoil has raised questions inside Labour over Starmer’s leadership, as his approval rating is among the worst of all Western leaders.
However, unlike Western leaders like Canada Prime Minister Mark Carney and Germany Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Starmer has cultivated a close working relationship with Trump and avoided confrontation when pressed on issues around free speech and big tech regulation in the U.K.
The president and prime minister share little common ground on issues such as the regulation of big tech, free speech and support for Israel and Ukraine. Starmer has grown increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Britain is expected to recognize Palestinian statehood at the United Nations next week.
The U.S. opposes the move, saying it would reward terrorism and encourage Israel to annex parts of the West Bank.
Trade remains the biggest issue. A proposed deal to remove tariffs on U.K. steel exports was shelved before Trump crossed the pond.
The U.S. currently applies a 25% duty on British steel, which makes up about 6% of all U.K. steel exports.
Speaking to reporters as he boarded Air Force One, Trump said he was “into helping” Britain improve the trade deal. “They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit,” he said. “We’ve made a deal, and it’s a great deal, and I’m into helping them. They’d like to see if they could get a little bit better deal. So, we’ll talk to them.”
Trump has added a 10% tariff on top of existing duties for U.K. goods. The European Union, a larger U.S. trading partner, faces tariffs of 20% to 50%.
For Starmer, keeping Trump on side could be financially wise despite the president’s unpopularity with British voters and many inside the governing Labour Party.
Courthouse News reporter James Francis Whitehead is based in England.
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