������������

He even gets a carriage ride, which was denied him on his first state visit in 2019, when security concerns required a helicopter ride to Buckingham Palace, and earning the ire of Elizabeth II after Marine One burned the grass on her lawn. So, while Emmanual Macron of France went in a carriage procession through the narrow streets of Windsor in July, Trump will travel through the protected vistas of the vast Windsor estate, with cheering crowds replaced by military troops lining the route, along with no less than three bands.

“It does seem unusual,” comments Valentine Low, whose latest royal book, “Power and the Palace: The Inside Story of the Monarchy and 10 Downing Street,” was published on September 11. The displays of pomp and circumstance have one basic goal: to make Donald Trump happy.

The American president talks in laudatory terms about members of the House of Windsor and considers his first state visit to be a highlight of his first term. An opportunity for Trump to again be seen with the royal family was the gilded carrot dangled by the British government, and eagerly snatched by the U.S. president.

The state visit also shows the lengths to which governments will go to appeal to Trump, and how senior royals are prepared to tamp down their well-known passions (tackling climate change, supporting Ukraine, bolstering intercultural relations, fighting homelessness) in order to aid in that cause.

What most observers don’t realize is that the palace and government are working hand-in-glove to make sure every aspect of this state visit is a success. The private secretaries of the monarch and prime minister as well as the cabinet secretary (the most senior civil servant) are known as the “Golden Triangle” because they work so closely together. “The PM’s private secretary can talk on a daily basis with the palace,” Low states in an interview with the Star, to “make sure there are no surprises, nobody gets caught short by something.”

That palace-Downing Street relationship extends to their principal occupants.

While the King is the host, this state visit, like all others, is at the initiative of the British government. “The royal family acts on government advice,” Low points out . “The King has a good relationship with [Prime Minister] Keir Starmer. They have things in common: a certain earnestness, and a desire to get things done … If Starmer thinks the country’s best interests are served by having a state visit, then the King will go all out.”

Windsor Castle may not have as much gilt decoration as Buckingham Palace for the gold-obsessed American, but the oldest inhabited castle in the world has some spectacular views to appeal to a president obsessed with how things look on camera. After sleeping at the castle, Trump heads to Chequers, the PM’s country home, where he’ll be greeted by another guard of honour. (Alas, though Trump insists that his second state visit is unique, it isn’t. Another elected head of state previously enjoyed two such visits: French President Raymond Poincaré came in 1913 and 1919.)

The King has a wealth of tact and discretion to deal with any situation. Charles may be two years younger than Trump but he has more than a half century of diplomatic experience. “Here is a guy who can remember back to de Gaulle stirring things up in Quebec. He went to the White House pre Watergate as a guest of Richard Nixon … He met Churchill, Reagan, Gorbachev; Nelson Mandela was a bona fide chum,” explained Robert Hardman, author of the recently updated biography “Charles III.”

The Trump state visit is unlikely to come near the top or bottom of the rank of state visits. One of the best was when Nelson Mandela of South Africa came to Buckingham Palace in 1996. “She had a fantastic relationship with Nelson Mandela, he was the only one who would call her Elizabeth,” says Low. In contrast, the 1978 visit by Romania’s dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu is infamous. “The most repellent guest she ever had to make do with,” her former private secretary Sir William Heseltine told Hardman in “Queen of Our Times.” Palace staff stripped valuables from their suite after being warned by the French that the couple had ransacked their rooms in the Élysée Palace.

“If his mother could put up with Nicolae Ceauşescu, Charles can cope with Donald Trump,” writes Low. Being a perfect host means tamping down his own strong views on subjects like the environment and Ukraine, which are the opposite to those of Trump.

Low and others will also be observing Prince William during this state visit in particular whether his role will be more visible than the usual one of a Prince of Wales. “Trump loves him,” Low explains. “He is quite an asset,” noting that the politician went out of his way to meet the heir to the throne while they were both in Paris for the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in December 2024.

The American politician was clearly taken by the prince, afterward describing him as “really very handsome” and saying he was doing a “fantastic job.” That sort of appreciation can only help Britain, its government and its royal family.