Trump Receives Royal Welcome at Windsor Castle, With Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride and Red Arrows Flyover, as Protesters Take to the Streets

King Charles is sparing no expense for President Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom, which included on Wednesday a horse-drawn carriage ride on the grounds of Windsor Castle and a flyover by Red Arrows planes that released red, white, and blue smoke. The president is due to return to Washington on Thursday. Mr. Trump and first lady Melania Trump arrived in the United Kingdom late Tuesday for their second state visit to the country. He is the first American president invited to two separate state visits — one with Queen Elizabeth II in 2019, and now this visit with King Charles. On Wednesday morning, they departed Winfield House — the residence of the American ambassador to the U.K., where they had spent the night — by helicopter. They landed on the grounds of Windsor Castle, where they were greeted by the heir apparent to the throne, Prince William, and his wife, Princess Catherine. They then traveled on the grounds by horse-drawn carriage, during which the band played the American national anthem. The president and King Charles rode separately from their wives. Protesters wear masks of politicians during a demonstration of the Stop Trump Coalition group against President Trump’s state visit at London, September 17, 2025. AP/Joanna ChanMr. Trump was met with a large group of protesters taking to the streets of London during this visit, which also happened in 2019. That could have something to do with Mr. Trump’s carriage ride being kept strictly within the castle’s walls. During the French president’s state visit this summer, King Charles rode the carriage with President Emmanuel Macron outside of the castle. Some protesters went so far as to taunt Mr. Trump for his relationship with notorious sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein — someone who was also close with King Charles’s brother, Print Andrew, before Epstein’s death. On Wednesday morning, Sky News reported that four people were arrested for projecting images of Mr. Trump — including his infamous Georgia jailhouse mugshot — and photos of Epstein onto the walls of Windsor Castle. Campaigners hold signs and wave Palestinian flags during a Stop Trump Coalition protest march from Portland Place to Parliament Square at London, September 17, 2025. AP/James ManningMr. Trump later visited the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted him for his first state visit more than five years ago. He laid a wreath inside the chapel where her remains are held. Many Britons were not pleased to see Mr. Trump receive such a welcome. Thousands took to the streets to protest the president at London, where anti-Trump and anti-war posters were displayed. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, wrote a scathing op-ed in the Guardian denouncing the president. “Scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting US citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities,” Mr. Khan wrote. “These actions aren’t just inconsistent with western values — they are taken straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”It isn’t just Labour Party leaders who have their distaste for Mr. Trump. The leader of the center-left Liberal Party — which is the third-largest party in the House of Commons — told the New York Times that he will be skipping the state dinner to protest the president’s support for continued Israeli operations in Gaza. “I personally do not think he represents the best of American values,” Mr. Davey told the Times. “He certainly doesn’t share the values that I felt have been at the base of that special relationship.”

Trump Receives Royal Welcome at Windsor Castle, With Horse-Drawn Carriage Ride and Red Arrows Flyover, as Protesters Take to the Streets

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