King Charles III and US President Donald Trump inspect the Guard of Honour during the State visit by the President of the United States of America at Windsor Castle on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England. -Credit:Getty Images
(Getty Images)
Formalities for President Donald Trump’s historic second visit to the United Kingdom are underway. But as the American president tries to remain in the good graces of the British monarchy and government, King Charles III seems impatient with these eight poignant words.
The King welcomed Trump to Windsor with a carriage procession and guard of honor, assembled on the lawn inside the Quadrangle of Windsor Castle, which is the largest for a state visit to the U.K.
The Republican president walked alongside the king and one of the guards between a line of soldiers, each carrying the state colors of their regiment. A video shared on social media shows an awkward Trump trying to make conversation with the guard walking beside him.
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King Charles ushers President Donald Trump during guard of honor on Sept. 17.
“What is your division?” Trump asked the guard, Nicola Hickling, a lip reader, exclusively told Mirror US.
“We don’t normally talk to them,” King Charles sternly responded, in an effort to cut the conversation short.
The president continued his efforts at making conversation with the guard, ignoring the King’s comments. However, he was quickly interrupted by the monarch, who ushered him along by saying “this way.”
“So long,” Trump told the guard as he moved along.
Wednesday’s welcoming pageantry included the largest military ceremony for a visiting leader to the U.K. with 120 horses and 1,300 military personnel involved in the proceedings. Further, 80 soldiers from the House Cavalry Mounted Regime rode during the carriage procession as part of the Sovereign’s escort, which accompanied the royal carriages.
Following the welcoming ceremony, Trump and first lady Melania Trump were expected to visit St. George’s Chapel to pay respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II, who hosted them during their first state visit in 2019. The visit comes as the British try to engage with president Trump in keeping post-World War II global order and possibly divert him on issues affecting the two nations. The president is set to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Trumps were received by the Prince and Princess of Wales— William and Catherine— as a representation of the future of the royal family.
“My relationship is very good with the U.K., and Charles, as you know, who’s now king, is my friend,” Trump said from the south lawn of the White House on Tuesday morning before departing for his visit. “And it’s the first time this has ever happened where somebody was honored twice, so it’s a great honor.”
But despite a pompous welcome at Windsor, on the streets of London and Windsor, the scene was vastly different.
Thousands of protestors from the Stop Trump Coalition swarmed the streets of Windsor, as they branded his state visit as “shameful” and “humiliating” for the U.K. Speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, a member of the group, Zoe Gardner, said U.K. leaders should not be allowing “this toddler” to use their home as a “theme park.”
“There is an enormous line between a relationship and diplomacy with the United States, and letting this toddler come here and use our country as a theme park and honoring him with a red carpet and a banquet with the King,” Gardner said. “There are miles between those two positions, and what we’re doing today is humiliating and shameful for the U.K.”
However, it is not just critics who have turned up for the controversial American figures. Fans of Trump traveled to Windsor with hopes of catching a glimpse of the president and first lady, including Joseph, 61, from Battersea, London, who arrived at 6 a.m. decked out in Union Jack attire.
“I’m here as a royalist and I love Trump as well, I support him. I’m a patriot and Trump is a patriot, that’s why I’m here to come and support both the royal family, the monarchy, the king and president Trump,” he told The Mirror US.