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London: King Charles will give Donald Trump a rare honour when the US president arrives in Britain for a state visit that is tipped to bring billions of dollars in American investment, with billionaires joining a formal dinner at Windsor Castle.
Trump will become the only American president to be honoured with two state visits to the UK when he lands on Tuesday, treating him to high ceremony including a short journey with the King in a horse-drawn carriage before a state dinner.
Trump attended a dinner at Buckingham Palace with the late Queen during his 2019 state visit.Credit: AP
With the media broadcasting every move, the carriage procession will be one of the high points of the visit, as Trump and his wife, Melania, join King Charles and Queen Camilla as well as Prince William and Princess Catherine.
Given security concerns over the visit, however, the carriage procession will be kept to the Windsor estate, and the route will be lined with members of the armed forces – a contrast with the procession through the Windsor streets in front of civilian crowds when French President Emmanuel Macron came for a state visit in July.
Days after the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah, and with protesters planning to march against Trump, security is tight, and Windsor Castle will be closed to the usual visitors while the president is in the country.
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The New York Times reports that drones, snipers, mounted police and boat teams on the River Thames will all be part of the biggest protective security operation since Charles’ 2023 coronation. “They will be seeking to control every aspect of the space, both … on the ground and in the air,” Simon Morgan, a former Metropolitan Police royalty protection officer, told the Times.
The visit has raised eyebrows in Britain because Trump was given a state visit in 2019 and very few dignitaries receive the honour twice, but British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is seeking to maximise diplomatic leverage from the royal welcome.
Starmer handed Trump a personal invitation from the King during a White House meeting in February, helping to put their relationship on a solid footing, given that Trump is known to have a deep affection for the royal family.
The president arrives in the UK on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) and has no public events immediately after he lands.
The formalities begin on Wednesday morning (British time) when he and Melania arrive at Windsor to be met by William and Kate, who will take them to the formal welcome from the King and Queen.
King Charles and French President Emmanuel Macron ride a horse-drawn carriage towards Windsor Castle.Credit: AP
A royal salute will be fired at Windsor Castle at the same time a similar salute is fired 40 kilometres away at the Tower of London.
After the carriage procession and an inspection of the honour guard, Trump and Melania will join the royal family for lunch in the state dining room at the castle.
In another key moment, Trump and Melania will lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II in St George’s Chapel. After this, they will join the King and Queen at a Beating Retreat ceremony that will include a fly-past by British and American F-35 fighter jets.
The major event will be the state banquet on Wednesday night, local time, including speeches by the King and the president.
Melania Trump (right) with Queen Elizabeth in London, 2019.Credit: Getty Images
The guest list for Trump’s official dinner has not been released and is certain to be compared with the gathering for French President Emmanuel Macron at a similar dinner two months ago. Those who attended the July dinner included Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, former England goalkeeper Mary Earps and authors Joanne Harris and Sebastian Faulks.
Russia, China on the agenda
Only after a full day of ceremony at Windsor Castle – where Trump and Melania will stay on Wednesday night – will the president move to formal talks with Starmer.
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The two will meet on Thursday at Chequers, the prime minister’s official residence outside London, and are scheduled to speak at a press conference.
Starmer is seeking to keep Trump engaged on the war in Ukraine in the hope that he will intensify pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to agree to a peace deal, giving the visit a serious strategic objective.
Trump said on Saturday that he would only increase sanctions on Russia if NATO members stopped buying Russian oil, putting the onus on European leaders to do more.
The president also said he wanted to apply pressure on China for its support for Russia in the war, but he said NATO members had to act first by imposing tariffs of 50 to 100 per cent on Chinese goods.
While it will be challenging for Starmer to shift Trump to a stronger stance against Putin, there are already signs of major outcomes from the visit on economic relations between the US and UK.
Donald Trump with Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang in April.Credit: Bloomberg
Trump will be joined on the visit by Nvidia founder and chief executive Jensen Huang, whose net worth has risen to $US154 billion ($232 billion) in the Forbes tally of global wealth.
Nvidia, whose chips have become essential building blocks for AI software, is planning a major investment in a UK data centre to be announced during the president’s visit.
The move is another sign of co-operation between the semiconductor giant and the White House after Nvidia gained a crucial export deal last month by agreeing to pay 15 per cent of the royalties on its Chinese chip sales to the US government.
Also on the visit will be OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who has outlined plans for mammoth investments in new data centres to power ChatGPT, the chatbot that claims more than 700 million active weekly users. Forbes estimates Altman’s net worth at $US2.1 billion.
The main AI investment is expected to be a data centre in Blyth, Northumberland, at the site of a failed battery plant that collapsed last year. Investment company Blackstone has also backed the project.
The big tech pledges will ensure some economic sunshine for Starmer during Trump’s visit after official figures last week showed the UK economy had zero growth in July.
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