WINDSOR (Realist English). President Donald Trump bade farewell to King Charles III on Thursday at Windsor Castle, closing the ceremonial leg of his second state visit to the United Kingdom before heading to Chequers for political talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The agenda is expected to cover Gaza, the special military operation in Ukraine and bilateral trade.
Trump shared a warm handshake with the monarch and described him as “a great gentleman, and a great King” before departing for the prime minister’s country residence. The visit marks the first time any U.S. president has been honored with a second U.K. state visit.
While the president turned to politics, First Lady Melania Trump continued her program of engagements with Britain’s royal family. She toured Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library with Queen Camilla before joining the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, for a visit with the Squirrel Scouts.
The state visit featured elaborate pageantry, including 120 horses, 1,300 troops and what officials described as the largest guard of honor in living memory. A banquet in St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle drew 160 guests. In his toast, Trump called the visit “one of the highest honors of my life” and praised the U.K. as a close ally.
Melania Trump will rejoin the president later at Chequers before the couple departs Britain.
