State Visit by The President and First Lady of the United States

Wednesday 17th September

The President and First Lady arrived in the grounds of Windsor Castle and were greeted by The Prince and Princess of Wales who accompanied them to meet Their Majesties.

The King and Queen formally welcomed The President and First Lady outside, as a Royal Salute was fired from the East Lawn of Windsor Castle and at the Tower of London.

Thereafter, The President and First Lady joined The King and Queen, and The Prince and Princess of Wales, in a Carriage Procession through the Windsor estate, towards the Castle. 

The Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment provided a Sovereign’s Escort for the Carriage Procession. The route was lined by members of the Armed Forces, with three military bands from the Royal Marines, the Army and the RAF.

On arrival at the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, a Guard of Honour, with the State Colours of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards greeted the party. This is the first time at such an occasion that three State Colours featured. Conventionally, only one colour would be on parade. 

The President and First Lady then joined The King and Queen on the Royal Dais before The President, accompanied by The King, was invited to inspect the Guard of Honour. 

Following lunch in the State Dining Room with Members of the Royal Family, Their Majesties invited The President and First Lady to view a special display of items from the Royal Collection relating to the United States of America, in the Green Drawing Room.

In the afternoon, The President and Mrs. Trump visited St George’s Chapel, Windsor, to privately lay a wreath on the Tomb of Queen Elizabeth II. The President and First Lady were then given a short tour of the chapel and heard a musical performance from the chapel choir.

Later, The President and First Lady joined The King and Queen, The Prime Minister and Lady Starmer and US and British military families to view a Beating Retreat ceremony on the East Lawn of Windsor Castle. The ceremony included a flypast by UK and US F-35 military jets and the Red Arrows.

In the evening, The King, accompanied by The Queen and Members of the Royal Family, hosted a State Banquet in St George's Hall for The President and First Lady. 

During the banquet, both The King and President Trump made speeches. His Majesty referenced the 'enduring bond between our great nations' during his speech to assembled guests who included diplomats, sports stars and tech leaders. 

Thursday 18th September

On Thursday morning, The President and First Lady formally bid farewell to The King and Queen at Windsor Castle.

The President travelled to Chequers, where he was met by The Prime Minister and Lady Starmer, and greeted with a Guard of Honour from RAF Halton and bagpipers.

Meanwhile, The Queen and the First Lady toured Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House and the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

The First Lady later joined The Princess of Wales at Frogmore Gardens to meet the Chief Scout, Dwayne Fields, and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels programme as they learn about nature to achieve their ‘Go Wild’ badge. Her Royal Highness has been Joint President of the Scout Association since 2020.