Donald Trump’s Royal Treatment: King Charles III Rolls Out the Red Carpet in Desperate Bid to Woo the Unpredictable US President
- Donald Trump becomes the first world leader to receive a second state visit invitation from Buckingham Palace, a move seen as a “very smart” bid to charm the unpredictable US President.
- The US President will be treated to a carriage procession, royal gun salutes, a state dinner, and multiple guards of honour during his two-day visit to the UK.
- Analysts say the UK is pulling out all the stops to keep Trump on side, with trade deals, technology partnerships, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda.
In a bid to woo the mercurial US President, the UK is pulling out all the stops to make Donald Trump’s second state visit a memorable one. The President and his wife, Melania, will be hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, where they will be treated to a carriage procession, royal gun salutes, a state dinner, and multiple guards of honour.
According to Dr Alex Penler, a historian of diplomatic relations, the royal family is often deployed as a “soft power tool” by the British government, particularly with state visits. “The British really understand that Donald Trump loves the monarchy,” she said. “He loves the pomp and ceremony. The celebrity. The gold. These are all of his favourite things.”
Trump’s first state visit to the UK in 2019 was marked by controversy, with the US President breaching royal protocol by walking in front of Queen Elizabeth II. However, the UK is hoping that this visit will be a success, with analysts saying that there is a lot at stake. “We want to be on the right side of him,” said royal commentator Afua Hagan. “The King is a secret weapon, as is Prince William, to keep that relationship special.”
During his visit, Trump will have bilateral meetings with the UK’s besieged leader, Sir Keir Starmer, and others, with trade deals, technology partnerships, and the wars in Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda. The US President’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein has also been in focus ahead of the visit, with Starmer having sacked Britain’s ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over his ties to the convicted paedophile.
Ryan Wain, the executive director of politics at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, said that the idea that Trump will be easily wooed by Britain’s shiny things is “doing the president a disservice”. “Most analysts have a licensed idea of Trump being a deal-maker and transactional, and I think that’s a fair assessment,” he said. “But in terms of the interest that he’s pursuing, I do think he puts America’s interests first, and rightly so, he’s the leader of a sovereign nation.”
As the UK prepares to roll out the red carpet for Trump, one thing is clear: this visit is about more than just pomp and circumstance. It’s about securing mutually beneficial deals and strengthening ties between two of the world’s most powerful nations. Will the UK’s efforts pay off, or will Trump’s unpredictability prove to be a challenge too great to overcome? Only time will tell.