It was a royal welcome like no other for US President Donald Trump and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump.
This was his second state visit to the United Kingdom and a historic one at that. President Trump is the first, ever, President of The United States to be invited twice by the British monarch for a state visit.
Although the Trumps arrived in the UK on Tuesday evening, the official welcome ceremony didn’t occur until the next day, on Wednesday. It began the moment they arrived at Windsor Castle aboard Marine One when they were met and welcomed by the Prince and Princess of Wales.
From thereon, it was all pomp, pageantry and circumstance with the British sparing nothing to impress.
The future King and Queen, that is, Prince William and Princess Catherine, accompanied the Presidential Couple on a short walk across the lawn to the front entrance of Windsor Castle where they were greeted by His Majesty, King Charles III and Queen Camilla. The occasion was marked with a diplomatic handshake.
Thereafter, it was the best of British royal tradition in full display.
The world watched in awe as the English monarch, King Charles and President Trump boarded an ornate, golden-trimmed royal carriage which took them to the immaculately trimmed lawn at Windsor Castle grounds for the inspection of the troops and Royal Guard.
Afterwards, The Trumps joined the Royal family for lunch at Windsor Castle. This was followed by an exhibition from the famous Royal Collection in the Green Drawing Room where the host nation showcases artifacts that are of historical significance between the two nation.
In this case, King Charles showed President Trump important historic documents about US independence, much to the awe of the visiting head-of-state.
After lunch, President Trump and First Lady Melania were taken to St. George’s Chapel, the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth II. There, they paid their respects and placed a wreath on the late monarch’s tomb.
Trump later described the visit as “An honour” because of his deep respect and admiration of the late monarch.
Before the end of the day, President Trump and the First Lady joined the British monarch on the East Lawn at Windsor Castle, to view a special, joint UK-US military musical performance, aptly named, the ‘Beating Retreat’.
Like the historic nature of this second state visit, this performance on a state visit marked another historic milestone as this has never been done before particularly for a visiting head-of-state.
To cap off a busy day that had been filled with the best of British pageantry, politics and diplomatic maneuvers, the King and Queen hosted a special, traditional state banquet at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Hall.
The dinner which was meant to hail the special bilateral relationship between the US and UK, was attended by 160 guests.
Among these attendees were high members of the Royal family, the US First Daughter, Tiffany Trump and her husband, top diplomats from both countries including tech titans, media moguls and business executives.
Both King Charles and President Trump each delivered a speech which emphasized the “special relationship” between the two nations, one bound by history, culture, language and by shared tradition and values.
One important point to note is that royal hospitality during highstakes states visits such as this one, is imperative and therefore needed. In other words, it is a form of soft power diplomacy that is required to build special relations with important partners such as the US and where nothing is left to chance.
To conclude the state visit, Thursday and the final day, was filled with diplomatic and bilateral meetings with the government and business interests.
The final day of the state visit saw President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump bid farewell to the King and Queen before going to meet British Prime Minister, Kerr Starmer at his Chequers residence in Buckinghamshire.
Afterwards, both leaders held a Joint Press Conference after the conclusion of a historic £150bn investment deal.
Meanwhile, the First Lady spent time attending different events with the Queen and then with the Princess of Wales, Katherine, before going back to Chequers to join her husband for departure at the conclusion of the state visit.
From Chequers, The Trumps took a short helicopter ride aboard Marine One to Air Force One at Stansted airport where they finally flew out around 1800 hrs local time.
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