Trump to Speak at State Banquet With Royal Family

President Donald Trump’s historic second state visit to Britain continued on Wednesday night with a royal banquet at Windsor Castle, a rare honor that British leaders hope might smooth the path for new agreements on technology and trade. Following a day of pomp and pageantry, Trump and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, made their way to a long banquet table set with silver-gilt candelabras and flowers inside St George’s Hall, beneath a soaring timber ceiling decorated with the coats of arms of every Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in the 14th century.  King Charles III was seated next to Trump, the pair flanked by Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Across the table, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was placed beside Queen Camilla, with the First Lady and Prince William seated to her right. Further down, Prime Minister Keir Starmer dined alongside Stephen A. Schwarzman, the chief executive of Blackstone. Both the King and the President are expected to speak before dinner concludes. The guest list mixed royals, political figures and some of the world’s most recognizable business leaders. Rupert Murdoch, the media mogul whose Wall Street Journal is currently locked in a major legal battle with Trump, was in attendance, as were Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and the golfer Nick Faldo, a Masters champion. In all, 160 guests filled the hall, where the banquet table stretched 155 feet, glittering with 139 candles and more than 1,400 pieces of cutlery. The table itself took a week to assemble, royal officials said. A state banquet is a fixture of such visits, but the setting on this occasion is unusual. These dinners are typically held in the Ballroom at Buckingham Palace. With the palace undergoing renovations and Charles eager to showcase Windsor Castle’s history, the Trumps instead dined in St George’s Hall, a chamber rebuilt after a devastating fire in 1992 and often used for grand ceremonial occasions. Such a spectacle is considered the United Kingdom’s highest form of diplomatic hospitality, and one that American Presidents do not usually experience twice. Subsequent visits to the United Kingdom are more normally recognized with tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W. Bush in 2008 and Barack Obama in 2016. The decision to once again fete Trump, a longtime admirer of the British royal family, underscores Britain’s calculation that the unique honor may help strengthen ties at a moment when London is pressing for closer trade and technology agreements with Washington. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to seek a new bilateral technology pact during meetings with the President on Thursday, hoping to unlock billions in American investment at a time of economic uncertainty. Earlier in the day, President Trump paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, laying a wreath at her tomb in St George’s Chapel and attending a performance by the chapel choir. He and the King toured artifacts of Anglo-American history, including documents on U.S. independence from George III and memorabilia from Dwight Eisenhower’s 1957 visit. The two men shared warm words, often walking side by side as military bands and mounted troops staged elaborate ceremonies on the castle grounds. The spectacle—120 horses, more than 1,300 troops and the largest guard of honor in recent memory—marked a striking welcome for a leader whose “America First” foreign policy has often jarred with European allies. A flyover of British and American fighter jets was canceled due to weather, but the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows roared overhead, releasing red, white and blue smoke. The grandeur inside Windsor contrasted with scenes elsewhere. Thousands of demonstrators marched in central London, holding placards denouncing the president. Activists projected an image of Trump with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on a castle tower on Tuesday night, leading to several arrests. Security has been especially tight since the fatal shooting last week of Charlie Kirk, a prominent Trump ally.