Charles’ Plans For Trump Revealed After Reports He’s ‘Concerned’ For the President’s Visit
Jason Pham
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom is officially scheduled to take place from September 17 to September 19, with none other than King Charles set to host the couple at Windsor Castle.
The visit will mark Trump’s second state visit after Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, hosted him and Melania during his first administration in 2019. As for what will happen, Ingrid Seward, the editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine and the author of the book My Mother and I , noted the importance of the occasion to “strengthen” the relationship between the United States and United Kingdom.
“This particular state visit is very significant,” she told Fox News. “Everyone is calling it the ‘soft power’ of the monarchy. King Charles can’t do anything remotely political or even say anything remotely political because that’s our constitution. He’s head of state, and he’s monarch, but he doesn’t get involved in politics. … But this event strengthens the relationship between both nations, and it’s one everyone is looking forward to.”
The source continued, “The royal family is especially looking forward to this. Trump is extremely flattering of the royal family. … The late queen was very amused by Trump, and she liked him. There is a good feeling all around before it has even started.”
Along with Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate Middleton are also set to meet the Trumps. A royal salute is also set to be fired from the east lawn of Windsor Castle and the Tower of London in honor of the visit. Trump and Melania will then join Charles, Camilla, William, and Kate in a carriage procession through the Windsor estate toward the castle. “They will go into lunch with as many of the royal family as the king can pull together, which will be most of the family,” Seward added of the plans.
Following lunch, Trump will then visit St. George’s Chapel in Windsor to lay a wreath on the Queen’s grave. A flypast by the US and the US F-35 military jets and the Red Arrows will also occur. The state visit will also include a banquet on September 17, with 150 guests invited based on their cultural, diplomatic, and economic links.
“You are preparing the food that the king or the queen really enjoys,” Darren McGrady, the Queen and Princess Diana’s former personal chef, told Fox News of the banquet. “I know that when I was the chef, the kitchen would send up to four different menus for the queen, and she would choose the one she liked the best. But, before that, there are lots and lots of meetings between the foreign office and the monarch’s office to find out if there are any allergens or any foods they don’t like. The goal is to make the visiting guest feel welcomed, just like you would want any guest coming over to feel.”
He continued, “The queen was a fan of chocolate — the darker, the better. So, there was always chocolate on the menu. King Charles is not a fan of chocolate. He loves cheese, and he loves organic produce. I can see wild mushrooms on the menu. I see lamb. … Certainly, it was important for the chefs to showcase indigenous produce, like salmon from the Balmoral estate in Scotland or venison from Sandringham. It’s typically any food that was grown on the estate. It’s the best of British produce and recipes.”
He also shared what was off the menu for the Queen. “There were two things the queen didn’t eat — garlic and strong onion dishes,” he said. “Eating garlic and then the next day breathing garlic while meeting people, she realized that it was not the right thing to do. But she loved it whenever beef was served. She liked it well done, which is something the chefs in the kitchen had to accept. If we were doing a prime rib roast, the queen would have a slice from both ends, the well-done pieces.”
Seward also predicted that Trump’s state dinner could include several celebrity guests. “We always seem to produce Elton John,” she said. “One of his houses is just outside Windsor. He’s a real old friend of the royal family. When Macron was here, Mick Jagger was there with his girlfriend, which is quite unusual.”
She continued, “Being Trump, he’ll probably make some very amusing remarks. The royal family loves it. They love that kind of thing. They have, for so many years, had a lot of state visits, which, frankly, to them, are quite dull. It’s all beautiful, of course, but [sometimes] the person they’re entertaining is not as entertaining as Trump. So I think they’re really looking forward to that.”
After the dinner on Wednesday, Trump will meet the prime minister on Thursday, September 18, to view Sir Winston Churchill’s archives and hold a news conference. Meanwhile, Melania will join Kate at Frogmore Gardens to meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels nature-based program, which Kate has been a joint president of since 2020. Melania will then join Trump at Chequers before the first couple return to the US.
The Trumps’ state dinner also comes after a source told the Daily Beast that the king is “very concerned” about the president’s visit.“If King Charles is concerned President Trump will speak out of turn, he has good reason to think that,” Brittani Barger, co-founder of Royal News, told Daily Express U.S at the time, “President Trump does not hide his feelings or opinions, no matter who is around. And that is one reason so many people love him, but so many also dislike him.”
She continued, “They know their responsibilities and even if they disagree with a person, they will show grace and do what is best for the UK. If this state visit is going to help the UK, it is worth the time of King Charles and Queen Camilla.”
