Thousands of Londoners protested President Trump’s two-day state visit in the U.K., but the grandiose spectacles carefully crafted by the British government and royal family gave the president a welcome full of the kind of pageantry he revels in.
Wednesday night’s state dinner was particularly lavish. Hosted in Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Hall, the white-tie event saw Mr. Trump and several members of his administration mingling with British royalty and business leaders alike.
On one side of the hall’s grand banquet table — 155 feet long — place settings were arranged for Secretary of State Marco Rubio, King Charles III, Mr. Trump, and Catherine, the princess of Wales. On the other side: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Queen Camilla, Melania Trump and Prince William.
Just over 100 staff members served a total of 160 guests. Among them were Prime Minister Keir Starmer; Rupert Murdoch of News Corp; Tim Cook, the chief executive of Apple; and the Open AI chief executive, Sam Altman.
The menu began with a Hampshire watercress panna cotta, served with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad. The main course was an organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes, with a thyme and savory-infused jus. For dessert, guests were to be served a vanilla ice cream bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet interior and lightly poached Victoria plums.
Though Mr. Trump is a teetotaler, the dinner featured a lush wine list as well as a 1945 vintage port, to honor his first term as the 45th American president, and a 1912 cognac Grande Champagne, to note his mother’s birth year.
There’s also an elaborate cocktail invented for the dinner — a “Transatlantic Whisky Sour” that blends Johnnie Walker Black scotch with marmalade and is topped by a pecan foam and a toasted marshmallow on a star-shaped biscuit.
Anushka Patil is a Times reporter covering breaking and developing news around the world.
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