What will Donald Trump do on the UK state visit and where will he go?

US President Donald Trump is in the UK for an unprecedented second state visit.

Trump and his wife Melania are staying with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, and will remain in the UK until Thursday night.

The president was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II in June 2019.

A state visit is a formal trip to the UK by the head of a country. They are usually arranged at the invitation of the monarch, acting on government advice.

As well as being grand occasions with lots of pageantry, the visits are used by governments to further Britain’s interests.

Traditionally, US presidents serving a second term – such as Trump – are not offered a state visit. Instead, they are invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, as happened with former presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush.

However, in February Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer handed Trump an invitation from King Charles during a White House meeting to discuss a UK-US trade deal. Sir Keir said the invite was “truly historic” and “unprecedented”.

At the time, Trump said it was a “great, great honour”.

Tuesday

When they landed at Stansted airport on Tuesday evening, the Trumps were met by US Ambassador Warren Stephens and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper.

The Viscount Hood, Lord-in-Waiting, welcomed them on behalf of the King.

Arriving in the UK, the president said: “I have a lot of things here that warm my heart. I want to tell you. It’s a very special place.”

The couple spent the night at the US ambassador’s residence, Winfield House, in central London.

Wednesday

Trump and the first lady flew to Windsor by helicopter, and were greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

They were then formally welcomed by the King and Queen before joining them in a carriage procession through the Windsor estate.

A royal salute was fired in Windsor and at the Tower of London, and the King invited Trump to inspect the guard of honour.

After a private lunch with members of the Royal Family, the president visited St George’s Chapel in Windsor and laid a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.

The planned joint flypast by UK and US F-35 military jets and the Red Arrows has been scaled back because of poor weather conditions. The Red Arrows are still expected to appear over Windsor.

Later on Wednesday evening, a traditional state banquet will be held at the castle, during which both the King and president will deliver speeches.

Thursday

The president will travel to the prime minister’s country house Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, for a meeting with Sir Keir.

They will view the Sir Winston Churchill archives before holding a meeting and a press conference.

Melania Trump will remain at Windsor Castle where she will tour the Royal Library and see Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, a famous miniature palace built in the 1920s.

She will also meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields with Catherine, who is joint president of the Scout Association.

Mrs Trump will then join her husband at Chequers before they return to the US.

Accompanying Trump are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, special envoy Steve Witkoff, chief of staff Susie Wiles and “other senior White House staff”.

Trump arrived in the UK on his customised, high-spec Boeing 747-200B aeroplane known as Air Force One.

Once on the ground, the president travels in Cadillac One – an enhanced limousine nicknamed “The Beast”.

Two identical versions of the presidential limousine – as well as several other Secret Service vehicles – are flown over to the UK in military cargo planes in advance of Trump’s arrival.

While Trump will make some short journeys by limousine in the UK, he is expected to do most of his travelling by air – as was the case during his trip to Scotland in July.

The president will have brought a fleet of helicopters with him including Marine One which, like Air Force One, is not a specific aircraft but instead refers to any US Marine Corps aircraft carrying the president.

The president’s security has been tightened in recent days following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah.

The demonstration was organised by the Stop Trump UK coalition, a group of more than 50 campaign organisations, including climate, anti-racism and pro-Palestinian activists.

It previously called on the government to cancel the state visit, accusing the US president of “denying climate science” and “siding with war criminals – in Israel, Russia and beyond”.

The group also organised protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh during Trump’s recent Scotland visit, involving hundreds of people in the two cities.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said he would boycott the ceremonial banquet for Trump to “send a message” over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Since King Charles succeeded Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, he has hosted state visits from a number of international leaders and royals:

• July 2025: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte
• December 2024: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his wife Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani
• June 2024: Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako of Japan
• November 2023: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee.

He and Queen Camilla have carried out state visits to France, Italy, Germany, Kenya and Samoa.