US President Donald Trump arrives in the UK for historic second state visit

US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrived in the United Kingdom late on Tuesday for a historic two-day state visit that will see the US leader hosted with royal pomp by King Charles III at Windsor Castle before talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The state visit, the second for the US president, comes as the British government hopes a multibillion-dollar technology deal will show the trans-Atlantic bond remains strong despite differences over Ukraine, the Middle East and the future of the Western alliance.

It also comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honour guards, and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle for the Trumps.

“It’s the first time this has ever happened, someone was honoured twice. It is a great honour. And this was at Windsor, and they've never used Windsor castle for this before, usually it’s Buckingham Palace,” Trump said in what he described as "a great honour" upon his arrival.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host the Trumps on Wednesday before talks begin on Thursday with Starmer at Chequers, the British leader’s rural retreat.

According to the UK PM’s office, the visit will demonstrate that “the UK-US relationship is the strongest in the world, built on 250 years of history”—after that awkward rupture in 1776—and bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets.”

And the White House expects the two countries to strengthen their relationship during the trip and celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, according to senior White House officials.

Trump, the first US president to get UK second state visit

The unprecedented nature of the invitation, along with the expectation of lavish pomp and pageantry, holds dual appeal to Trump. The US leader has glowingly praised the King's late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

He has also spoken about how his own Scotland-born mother loved the queen and the monarchy. British officials say Trump will pay a private visit to the Queen's grave.

As he left the White House on Tuesday, Trump noted that during his past state visit, he was hosted at Buckingham Palace, but is set to be hosted in Windsor by King Charles this time around.

“I don’t want to say one is better than the other, but they say Windsor Castle is the ultimate,” Trump said. He described King Charles as “an elegant gentleman” saying “he represents the country so well.”

But amid the expected blend of 21st-century diplomacy and royal pageantry, criticism is greeting the visit in the UK.

Activists protest Trump's visit

On Tuesday, protesters gathered for a demonstration ahead of the arrival of Trump in Windsor, while four people were arrested following a projection of images of the US president alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the royal Windsor Castle.

Ahead of the visit, campaigners said they would protest against what they called "our government's choice to honour a man who is violating human rights in the United States and around the world."

And even though Mr. Trump will not be visiting Parliament, where the House of Commons will be in recess for a party conference session on Wednesday, protesters from the Stop Trump Coalition will assemble in Portland Place in the heart of London before making their way to Parliament Square.

However, the itinerary in Windsor and at Chequers, both well outside London, will keep Trump away from a planned mass protest against his visit.

Ukraine and Gaza on the agenda

Meanwhile, British PM Keir Starmer, who has already shown he’s adept at charming Trump, noted the US president’s Oval Office decorating choices and decision to display a bust of Winston Churchill in his visit to Washington in February.

And during Trump’s private trip to Scotland in July, Starmer visited and praised Trump’s golf courses.

Both leaders are expected to sign nuclear energy deals, expand cooperation on defence technology, and explore ways to bolster ties between the US and US financial hubs during their meeting on Thursday..

But there are pressing and key foreign policy issues on Ukraine and the war in Gaza for the Western leaders, and it remains to be seen how both can align their actions.

Starmer has attempted to use his influence to maintain US support for Ukraine, with limited success. While Trump has expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin, he has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia for shunning peace negotiations.

European NATO partners strongly condemned Russia's drone invasion of NATO member Poland last week and promised additional aircraft and troops for the bloc's eastern border. But Trump downplayed the incident, saying it “could have been a mistake”.

Starmer also departs from Trump over Israel’s war in Gaza and has said the UK will formally recognise a Palestinian state at the United Nations later this month, something that’s at sharp variance with US policy on Israel.