London — President Trump is due to arrive for a historic second official state visit to the U.K. on Wednesday evening in London. He can look forward to the pomp and pageantry of a formal state dinner at Windsor Castle, hosted by King Charles III.
But the timing of his visit is potentially awkward for Mr. Trump and his host, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and will likely bring more unwanted questions for the U.S. leader, coming immediately on the heels of the Starmer’s decision to fire his ambassador in Washington, Peter Mandelson, in response to new revelations about his past friendship with the late convicted sex offender .
Trump to get an unprecedented second royal reception
In the early weeks of Mr. Trump’s second term, Starmer had an ace in the hole to gain some favor as he arrived for a visit at the White House. Starmer came armed with a royal invitation from King Charles for an unprecedented second official state visit.
It was seen as a savvy diplomatic move, with Starmer recognizing Mr. Trump’s admiration for the British monarchy and royal family.
“My relationship is very good with the U.K. and King Charles is my friend. This is the first time this has ever happened, to be honored twice,” Mr. Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews before his departure on Tuesday.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer hands an invitation from King Charles III for a second U.K. state visit to President Trump at the White House, Feb. 27, 2025, in Washington. / Credit: Carl Court/Pool/Getty
The president is set to be greeted Wednesday with the full pomp, regalia and public spectacle offered by the U.K.’s royals. When they arrive Wednesday in Windsor, just west of London, Mr. Trump and first lady Melania will be taken by royal carriage, alongside King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales, to Windsor Castle, escorted by three different military bands and a regiment of the British Army on horseback.
Events on the day will include a flypast by British and American F-35 fighter jets, as well as other Royal Air Force planes, all capped by a state banquet at the castle on Wednesday evening.
“I hate to say it, but nobody does it like you people in terms of the pomp and the ceremony,” Mr. Trump told Starmer at a joint news conference during a visit to one of his golf courses in Scotland in July.
The second official state visit for Mr. Trump is a rarity in modern times. Historically, second-term U.S. presidents have not been offered new full state visits, and have instead generally been invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II laughs with President Trump during a state banquet in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace, in central London, June 3, 2019, on the first day of the U.S. president’s three-day state visit to the U.K. / Credit: DOMINIC LIPINSKI/POOL/AFP/Getty
“Ultimately, it’s happening because, you know, the royal family — no pun intended — is the biggest trump card this government can play at big moments of international statesmanship and diplomacy,” Roya Nikkhah, the royal editor for the Sunday Times newspaper, told CBS News ahead of Mr. Trump’s arrival. “There’s a lot in it for us and our government in terms of national interest, and President Trump will get all those images that he desperately wants to have again.”
Growing divisions in the United Kingdom
While Mr. Trump is briefly leaving behind a United States still rattled by the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk last week, he’s touching down in a nation facing its own political divisions.
Mr. Trump’s visit comes as Starmer faces the most significant political headwinds of his one-year premiership. His government has come under mounting pressure from an ascendant right-wing political movement at home, against a backdrop of growing polarization in Britain. Powerful outside voices, including tech billionaire and former close Trump ally Elon Musk, have been accused of stoking these divisions
A demonstration in London organized by far-right, anti-immigration activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, drew more than 110,000 people on Saturday, billed as a rally to “Unite the Kingdom” and for free speech. Musk himself addressed the rally by video-link. Eight people were arrested, and a small number of Robinson supporters clashed with police officers who were keeping them apart from counterprotesters.
Crowds gather during the Unite The Kingdom rally in central London, Sept. 13, 2025, in London, England. / Credit: Ben Montgomery/Getty/Ben Montgomery Photography
As CBS News’ Haley Ott reported from the protest on Saturday, among the Union Jacks and England flags carried by many members of the crowd, there were also MAGA hats and American flags.
“Britain is a nation proudly built on tolerance, diversity and respect. Our flag represents our diverse country and we will never surrender it to those that use it as a symbol of violence, fear and division,” Starmer said in a social media post on Sunday, rebuking some of the behavior seen at the march.
There has also been much criticism of the rhetoric employed by Musk when he addressed the weekend demonstration.
“Whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die,” the billionaire, who has been a vocal critic of Starmer since he took office in July 2024, told the crowd.
While Mr. Trump may no longer be on friendly terms with Musk, his administration is ideologically aligned with the two central themes of Saturday’s demonstration in London: advocating for free speech and an aggressively nationalist immigration policy.
That could make discussions with Mr. Trump diplomatically challenging for Starmer to navigate when they meet later this week.
U.K. ambassador’s dismissal over Epstein badly timed for Starmer and Trump
The man who would have had a key role in the organization of the president’s state visit is no longer in his post. Peter Mandelson was fired by Starmer as British Ambassador to the United States last week after new details emerged of his ties to Epstein. That also helped put the issue and questions around Mr. Trump’s own past relationship with Epstein back in the headlines, a subject he has dismissed as a Democrat-inspired “hoax.”
Starmer removed Mandelson from the key post after days of drip-fed revelations about Mandelson’s years-long friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein, who was found dead in his jail cell in New York in 2019.
Pressure started mounting on Starmer to take action when messages written by Mandelson to Epstein were released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee earlier this month, as part of a redacted 2003 “birthday book” to the late financier. They included a series of short notes accompanied by photos.
President Trump is seen along with Vice President JD Vance and Peter Mandelson (right), British Ambassador to the United States, as he addresses reporters in the Oval Office at the White House, May 8, 2025, in Washington. / Credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty
Among other personal messages, Mandelson wrote that Epstein was known for “taking you by surprise… in one of his glorious homes he likes to share with his friends (yum yum),” and that “wherever he is in the world, he remains my best pal!”
The final straw for Starmer, however, came after Bloomberg published a selection of emails on Sept. 10, from about 100 emails said to have been exchanged between Mandelson and Epstein between 2005 and 2010. Their contents, including suggestions by Mandelson that Epstein vigorously defend himself against the sexual misconduct allegations, led to Starmer promptly firing the ambassador.
In a podcast interview, Mandelson acknowledged the veracity of his correspondence with Epstein and expressed his deep regret that he had ever interacted with him, insisting he never saw evidence of the financier’s crimes and had believed previous rebuttals issued by his attorneys.
The “birthday book” in question is the same document The Wall Street Journal first reported the existence of in July, prompting Mr. Trump, who is also alleged to have written a message for Epstein in the book, to file a lawsuit against the newspaper and the owner of its parent company, Rupert Murdoch.
The Wall Street Journal published the full document, showing Mr. Trump’s alleged signature, last week.
Mr. Trump denies writing the message, calling it and the signature “fake.”
Mr. Trump and Starmer are unlikely to avoid questions from journalists during the state visit this week about the deceased sex offender.
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