President Trump received a pomp-filled royal welcome to Britain on Wednesday, feted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle during a two-day trip designed to be heavy on majesty and light on diplomacy.
In a sign of how eagerly the country is seeking to appeal to a president who has seemed intent on upending the post-World War II order, the visit marked the first time that an American leader has been invited to a second royal banquet. Mr. Trump attended a state banquet in 2019.
Publicly at least, Wednesday was more about the trappings and grandeur of royalty, not the grim realities of a war-weary world.
On his arrival at the castle Wednesday morning, accompanied by the first lady, Melania Trump, the president was welcomed by a guard of honor representing three colors: the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards and Scots Guards. The three colors have never previously been assembled for a state visit, another sign of how the royal family was seeking to impress Mr. Trump.
For the president, who has repeatedly expressed his love for a martial display, there were key moments planned throughout the day, including the royal salute as the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery marched past with their mounted guns and a spectacular flyover, with aerobatic jets known as the Red Arrows.
Windsor Castle has been the site of two state visits this year: the one on Wednesday, and one for President Emmanuel Macron of France. Mr. Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, has called it a singular gesture by the royal family. The president has said that his mother revered Queen Elizabeth II and watched her coronation in the early 1950s on television.
After a private lunch, the Trumps met with Charles and Queen Camilla in the castle’s Green Drawing Room, viewing items from the Royal Collection that relate to the United States.
“Wow,” Mr. Trump said as he looked at an item related to American independence. He and the king then looked at something related to a trans-Atlantic cable, according to reporters. The president turned to those reporters and asked, “Are you enjoying it, are you having a good time?”
The Trumps and the royal couple also exchanged gifts. The king and queen gave Mr. Trump a leather-bound volume celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the Union Jack that flew over Buckingham Palace on the day of Mr. Trump’s second inauguration. The royal couple gave Mrs. Trump a silver and enamel bowl crafted by the Northern Ireland artist Cara Murphy, as well as a handbag designed by Anya Hindmarch.
Mr. Trump gave the king a replica of one of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s swords, symbolizing the alliance of the United States and Britain during World War II. He gave the queen a Tiffany diamond and ruby flower brooch.
Not everyone in Britain was happy about Mr. Trump’s arrival in the country, or the royal treatment he received.
British activists upset about the state visit protested his arrival on Tuesday by projecting a picture of Mr. Trump with Jeffrey Epstein on the walls of Windsor Castle and unrolling a massive banner of the picture on the castle’s grassy lawn.
The police intervened to stop both political stunts quickly and made arrests over the projection. Representatives of the group behind the banner said they had achieved their goal of seeking to embarrass the president by noting his onetime friendship with the sex offender.
In London on Wednesday night, drum-playing protesters stopped near Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s residence at 10 Downing Street, making a noisy protest against Mr. Trump’s visit. The building is protected by a line of police officers in front of security gates.
And the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, launched a broadside against Mr. Trump and his administration in an opinion essay published in The Guardian shortly before Air Force One touched down on Tuesday night. Mr. Khan, a politician from Mr. Starmer’s Labour party who became the first Muslim to hold the position in 2016 and has since won two more mayoral elections in Britain’s capital, accused Mr. Trump of “fanning the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world,” continuing a long-running feud between the two men.
Mr. Trump took a swipe at Mr. Khan during his last visit to Britain in July, calling him “a nasty person” who has “done a terrible job.”
When Mr. Trump was honored by Charles at the banquet, Ed Davey wasn’t there. The leader of the centrist Liberal Democrats boycotted the dinner as a protest over Mr. Trump’s policies and the failure of the president to use his leverage over Israel to stop the war in Gaza.
Mark Landler, Maggie Haberman, Shawn McCreesh, and Nader Ibrahim contributed reporting.
Michael D. Shear is a senior Times correspondent covering British politics and culture, and diplomacy around the world.
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