Britain welcomed President Donald Trump with a display of royal pageantry meticulously designed for its audience of one. The state visit was a spectacle of gilded splendor, from the Queen Victoria state coach that carried him to Windsor Castle to the white-tie banquet where he was seated between King Charles III and Catherine, Princess of Wales.
The president, known for his affinity for grand spectacle, was treated to marching bagpipers and guards in bearskin hats. “This is truly one of the highest honors of my life,” Trump declared during his toast, confirming the effectiveness of the lavish reception.
This elaborate welcome, however, serves a clear diplomatic purpose. The British government is seeking to shield itself from Trump’s unpredictable policies, aiming for favorable tariffs, investment in its slow-growth economy, funding for a new artificial intelligence sector, and, crucially, a commitment not to abandon Ukraine to Russia.
Yet the spectacle presented a stark contrast. The imperial rituals honoring Trump belong to a vanished empire. While he promises to make America great again, Britain is a nation now heavily reliant on the United States for its defense and economic security. It can stage magnificent military displays on the lawns of Windsor but would struggle to deploy a significant force in Europe.
The strategy is tailored to a US president uniquely receptive to such displays. Trump’s comfort in the royal court is a departure from the republican principles of America’s founders. King Charles alluded to this history when he remarked, “I cannot help but wonder what our forebears of 1776 would make of this friendship today.”
Beyond the pageantry, the visit poses a significant challenge for the government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. While Starmer has secured a 10% tariff on UK exports to the US—a lower rate than that imposed on the European Union—and has pledged to increase defense spending, he is navigating a perilous political landscape. Many Britons view Trump’s values as antithetical to their own, even as his brand of populist politics gains traction through Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform Party, which now leads in the polls.
The visit has also been shadowed by controversy and accusations of American interference in UK politics. Starmer was forced to fire his ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his past association with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. The incident drew renewed attention to Trump’s own connection to Epstein, a link protesters highlighted by projecting images of the two men onto the walls of Windsor Castle. Prince Andrew’s ties to Epstein have also cast a long shadow over the royal family itself.
Public opposition to Trump is strong, with London Mayor Sadiq Khan arguing that the UK should speak truth to power rather than flatter the president. This sentiment contrasts with the warm reception for President Barack Obama in 2011 but echoes the protests that greeted President Ronald Reagan in 1982 over fears his rhetoric could provoke war with the Soviet Union.
Navigating these sensitivities requires deft diplomacy, a role King Charles has embraced since ascending the throne. Bound by constitutional impartiality, he has demonstrated considerable political skill, mending post-Brexit ties with fluent speeches in Germany and France and affirming Canadian sovereignty after remarks from Trump.
Trump’s itinerary now shifts from royal grandeur to political strategy at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence. There, he is expected to be shown archives related to Winston Churchill, a historical figure he reveres. The choice of location is significant; it was at Chequers in 1941 that Churchill learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the event that brought the US into World War II and solidified the “special relationship.”
Churchill later wrote of his relief that night, sleeping “the sleep of the saved and thankful.” His pre-war description of the United States—a “remote, wealthy, and talkative people” wary of foreign wars—reads as a striking summary of Trump’s “America First” doctrine. As Britain hopes for renewed commitment in an era where, as King Charles noted, “tyranny once again threatens Europe,” the central question is whether the pageantry and history will persuade Trump that, as President Franklin D. Roosevelt told Churchill on that fateful night, “We are all in the same boat now.”
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