WASHINGTON: Donald Trump will get the red carpet treatment this week on an unprecedented second United Kingdom state visit, as Britain counts on royal pomp and circumstance to woo the unpredictable United States president.
From a flyby and carriage ride with King Charles III to a grand state banquet at historic Windsor Castle, Britain is pulling out all the stops to flatter Trump, who has long been fascinated with the monarchy.
The aim is to keep Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Trump’s good side when they meet at the British leader’s country residence for talks centred on trade, tariffs and the Ukraine war.
Trump will also be kept far away from crowds and protesters, with all the action taking place outside London, where a large demonstration against the 79-year-old Republican is set to take place.
Labour leader Starmer is not a natural bedfellow for right-wing firebrand Trump, but he has worked hard to win him over since the US president returned to the White House in January.
“This is really special, this has never happened before, this is unprecedented,” Starmer said as he hand-delivered a letter from the king to Trump in the Oval Office in February, inviting him for the state visit.
Accepting the invitation, Trump told Starmer that Charles – who is currently undergoing treatment for cancer – was a “great, great gentleman”.
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The move was designed to play into Trump’s well-documented love of the British royals – his mother was Scottish – as well as his fondness for pageantry.
Trump has often raved about his previous state visit during his first term in 2019, when he met Queen Elizabeth II. He will become the first US president to get a second state visit.
