Trump basks in royal pomp amid London protests, says US and UK share ‘special relationship’

US President Donald Trump hailed the “special relationship” between the United Kingdom and the United States as he paid a second visit to honour British monarch King Charles III. Trump, who is the first head of state to be invited on a state visit to the UK twice, called it one of the highest honours of his life. While Trump was saying warm things about the UK, protests against his trip broke out in London.

The American president and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, were treated to the full array of British pageantry as they arrived for the state visit, angering many people in the United Kingdom. “The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal. It’s irreplaceable and unbreakable,” Trump said in a speech during a lavish banquet at Windsor Castle, The Guardian reported.

While lauding the special relationship between the two nations, Trump said: “Seen from American eyes, the word special does not begin to do it justice.” Many believe Trump’s address left UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gushing since he proffered a state visit to win favour with Trump, an overt royal fan.

Starmer hopes for big investments

The British premier is hoping that the trip would aid his government as it seeks to strengthen economic ties with the US and secure billions of dollars of investment, ease tariffs. With the visit, Starmer also aims to press the president on Ukraine and Israel.

The United Kingdom rolled out a royal red carpet, giving Trump the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory. During his address at the dinner, Trump expressed his delight at being not just the first US leader but the first elected politician to be invited for two state visits.

The banquet also saw prominent guests. Rupert Murdoch, who Trump sued – along with his Wall Street Journal newspaper, over the publication of an article about him and the late Jeffrey Epstein- was on the guest list. It is pertinent to note that the guest list was jointly drawn up by the British government and the White House.

Apart from this, several US tech CEOs were also at the dinner, including Nvidia’s Jensen Huang and OpenAI’s Sam Altman, reflecting the billions in tech deals going down during the visit.

The pitfalls remain

Meanwhile, King Charles III also hailed UK-US ties. “The United Kingdom was your partner in the first trade deal of your administration, Mr President, bringing jobs and growth to both our countries,” the British monarch said in his address.

“And no doubt we can go even further as we build this new era of our partnership,” he added. But while Starmer is banking on the royals to help cajole the president, pitfalls remain. Polls show that Trump remains widely unpopular in the UK, and Starmer is also facing plummeting poll ratings amid economic woes.

While there were some Trump supporters in crowds at Windsor outside London, several thousand people marched to protest against the state visit. The Metropolitan police estimated that at least 5,000 people took part in the protests, which were also staged in front of the British parliament.

On Wednesday, Trump and Melania joined Charles, Queen Camilla and other royals and dignitaries for a carriage procession, with the route lined by 1,300 British service personnel. Later, the Potus also viewed historical items from the royal collection relating to the US and then paid a visit to St George’s Chapel, the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted Trump for his first state visit in 2019, to lay a wreath on her tomb. The longest-serving British monarch passed away in September 2022.

With inputs from agencies.