Donald Trump‘s flight of green helicopters thundered out of the gloomy English sky like a scene from Apocalypse Now.
One almost expected Wagner to blast out as they landed and the wheels sank into the carefully manicured lawn of Windsor Castle.
When the leader of the free world emerged from Marine One the greetings from members of the Royal Family were effusive.
President Trump’s first state visit in 2019 went well, but Buckingham Palace had clearly determined this unprecedented second one would top it.
His arrival was, as one body language expert put it, a ‘love bombing,’ with tactile pats on the back, winks, whispered asides, and compliments galore.
The Prince and Princess of Wales were given the mission of setting the tone, crossing the dewy grass to perform the initial welcome at the helicopter.
President Trump passed his first test, descending the slippery metal steps, gripping both rails and avoiding any Bidenesque pratfalls.
William then welcomed him with the kind of very firm handshake that President Trump respects. The president placed his left fingers on William’s right shoulder and drummed them, a move he reserves for people he particularly likes.
‘Hello my friend, how are ya?’ he said warmly to William, according to a lipreader.
As he then shook Kate’s hand the president bowed slightly and, in a full charm offensive, told her: ‘You’re so beautiful, so beautiful.’
President Trump says ‘so beautiful’ as he is greeted by the Princess of Wales
William shook hands with First Lady Melania Trump, who was dressed in a sharply tailored, gray Dior skirt suit, and wide-brimmed hat.
The royal patted her right shoulder with his left hand. It was almost as if he had been studying the president’s own mannerisms.
‘It’s a pleasure to see you,’ William said, before telling the first couple ‘Let’s walk over together.’
Kate, wearing a feather brooch that belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales, and the First Lady, expertly negotiated the soggy grass in high heels.
William was particularly garrulous on the walk and as they they approached the King, he told President Trump: ‘This is my father.’
The King, standing outside the entrance to Victoria House with Queen Camilla, attempted to flatten his ruffled hair.
It was unclear whether it had been displaced by Marine One, or the whipping Windsor wind. President Trump appeared to have taken the precaution of extra hairspray.
At one point the King appeared to say: ‘We’re blown away!’
The Windsor wind – or, perhaps the blades of Marine One – ruffle the King’s hair
The First Lady and Princess of Wales negotiate the soggy grass at Windsor Castle
President Trump and the King were both on a charm offensive
As they shook hands, President Trump made his first potential breach of protocol, using his left hand to grip the King’s bicep, but the monarch didn’t appear to care.
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘The King’s response to this very familiar-looking greeting ritual suggests approval despite the way that it bends the rules in terms of traditional protocol.
‘He’s lowered his head in an act of “submission” and the crinkling around his eye suggests he is beaming with pleasure.’
With one hand behind his back the King showed ‘no air of regal haughtiness here as he is “love-bombed” by the president,’ she said.
‘King Charles’s body language on Trump’s arrival seems to endorse this idea of the two men being friends. He (the King) was seen peering through an open balcony door like an anxious parent, propping it with one hand as he waited impatiently for Trump’s helicopter to land.’
Royal courtiers appeared to think the arrival, in the Windsor estate’s rarely seen Walled Garden, went remarkably well. So well, in fact, that they quickly released a slow-motion Hollywood-style video of it with music.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla with First Lady Melania Trump and U.S. President Donald Trump attend the Ceremonial Welcome during the State visit by the President of the United States of America at Windsor Castle on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England
First Lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla during the State visit by the President of the United States of America at Windsor Castle on September 17, 2025 in Windsor, England
President Trump guides the King with a hand on his back
As they waited for horse-drawn carriages to pull up outside Victoria House the royals and the Trumps mingled briefly.
The unscripted interlude produced an awkward moment as the Queen, 78, and the First Lady, 55, were deep in conversation, with the King and president talking close by.
As Kate then approached the First Lady turned to greet her. The two women then chatted animatedly and the Queen appeared to take a slight step back, briefly looking something of a third wheel.
At the same time, William approached his father and the president and was quickly drawn into their conversation. President Trump patted William repeatedly on the shoulder as he gesticulated while appearing to tell a story.
After the carriages arrived and took them to Windsor Castle’s magnificent quadrangle the group was installed in a tent to escape the blustering wind, which may have been a blessing for the First Lady, who was wearing a very wide-brimmed wool hat in a bright purple hue.
‘Melania’s body language so far suggests a more assertive and confident approach to this royal visit than the last one, but she also seemed to be keen to project a more mysterious aura on the arrival,’ said body language expert Judi James.
‘As though she is there to support and even help choreograph her husband, rather than being the star herself.’
James added: ‘For a woman known for her beauty this shape of hat suggests a desire to hide. Royal women will tend to adore the flying saucer style too, but will always wear the hat at an acute angle to ensure their faces are totally on display.’
First Lady Melania Trump is seen smiling beneath a wide-brimmed wool hat
The King jokes with President Trump: ‘Watch the sword’
The president then accepted a gesture from the King who invited him to take the lead as they inspected soldiers in the quadrangle.
President Trump clearly reveled in it as he walked down the line, periodically speaking to some of the guardsmen standing to attention. He then thanked the commanding officer four times.
‘There is one moment when Charles’s legendary impatience kicks in though,’ said James. ‘Despite walking a very emphatic pace behind Trump as he inspects the troops there is a moment of suppressed tetchiness from Charles as he realizes there is a long conversation going on which might delay the schedule.
‘The King edges up to Trump, his hands clenching and unclenching in a gesture of impatience, and he places a hand on Trump’s back to get him moving along again.’
The King then made a joke, telling the president to ‘watch the sword’ as a guardsman swished it through the air.
As they moved on the president looked down and stepped over a stone gutter that might have tripped up his predecessor.
He then placed his arm around the King’s back as they departed.
President Trump negotiates a stone gutter that could have tripped up his predecessor
President Donald Trump and King Charles III shared a joke as they watched a display by the Red Arrows
After a private lunch in the State Dining Room, the Trumps laid laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II.
They then listened to a children’s choir at St. George’s Chapel, and the First Lady could be seen beaming under her hat as she spoke to them after.
‘See the people over there? That’s the media,’ President Trump said.
Later, the Trumps were taken to Windsor Castle’s Green Drawing Room for an exhibition about the United States, including being shown an early history of the first colonies.
President Trump listened intently, his head close to the King’s, and gave a muted fist pump. It was a clear signal that he regarded the first day of his state visit as a success.
King Charles and President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle
The friendly and spontaneous nature of his interactions with the King continued as they moved outside.
President Trump again put his hand on the King’s back as they climbed on to a dais and sat down to watch a display by the Red Arrows.
The two men laughed as they discussed where someone else was sitting.
‘He’s sitting in there, I think he’s in hiding, said the King, pointing to his right.’
President Trump winked at the King and said: ‘I think he’s avoiding me.’
It was unclear who they were talking about, but they clearly both enjoyed the joke.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s detractors may scurrilously suggest they were talking about him. Sir Keir was sat in the direction in which the president and the King pointed.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) speaks to Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney during the State Banquet at Windsor Castle
Later, the British onslaught of lavish hospitality – which was clearly an attempt to outdo a previous ceremonial trip by President Trump to France – continued with a state banquet for 160 guests in the castle’s St George’s Hall.
It was a sumptuous affair reminiscent of a scene from a Harry Potter movie, with a table stretching into the distance and festooned with a forest of golden candlesticks.
President Trump and the King whispered to each other intently in front of an array of cutlery that included five glasses each.
In his speech President Trump praised the Princess of Wales, who dazzled in a gold gown, as ‘so radiant, so healthy and so beautiful.’
William was seated next to the First Lady, who also stunned in yellow.
The Princess of Wales in a gold dress and tiara at the state banquet at Windsor Castle
First Lady Melania Trump accompanied by the Prince of Wales at the State Banquet
President Trump and King Charles ‘worked up something of a double act’ said a body language expert
‘It was clear from tonight that Charles and Trump have worked up something of a double act in terms of looking like very companionable old friends,’ said body language expert Judi James.
‘Their uninterrupted, heads-together chatting suggesting their liking for each other’s company is authentic.’
As they arrived in the hall the two men were already engrossed in a chat and seemed amused, before going into what the body language expert called a ‘straight man/funny man’ routine.
‘While Charles made his speech, Trump sat hunched and squat in his seat, his facial expression epitomizing the word “solemn” with his jaw and lower lip pushed out and his lips clamped, nodding in agreement with all that Charles said,’ James continued.
When Trump addressed the guests he lauded the King, who chuckled at the compliments and occasionally ‘produced a comedy mime of feelings of embarrassment,’ pulling at his collar and sliding his jaw from side to side.
As they prepared to tucked into a starter of Hampshire Watercress Panna Cotta with Parmesan Shortbread and Quail Egg Salad, it was clear that small talk was not going to be a problem.
