On September 17, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were honored with an extravagant state banquet at Windsor Castle during his unprecedented second official state visit to the United Kingdom. Hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the event described across media outlets as a "lavish" display of royal pomp and diplomacy brought together 160 high-profile guests in the historic St. George's Hall for an evening of fine dining, speeches, and subtle geopolitical signaling.
This marked the first time a world leader has received two such visits, underscoring the enduring U.S.-UK "special relationship" amid global tensions like the war in Ukraine and the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Surrounded by high-level politicians, a media mogul, tech giants and athletes, the grandeur-loving Donald Trump was treated to a fawning spectacle at a banquet at Windsor Castle as the best of British royal finery was rolled out for the banquet, while thousands protested in London against Trump's policies against a backdrop of ordinary people using food banks, becoming homeless and being perpetually broke. ..
Inside, the 50-metre-long grand Waterloo Table was set with 1,462 pieces of silver that sparkled in the light from 139 candles. Royal staff were on hand to cater to 160 guests, who were seated at the 50-metre-long grand Waterloo Table in St George's Hall.
King Charles and Mr Trump walked side by side to enter the hall, followed by Queen Camilla and Melania Trump. Each table setting was adorned with golden utensils and hand-picked flowers from the grounds of Windsor Castle. Traditional British beefeaters and a band of pipers lined the halls of the castle in preparation for the event.
About 100 staff members were on hand to serve 160 guests, including technology CEOs Tim Cook of Apple, Demis Hassabis of Google DeepMind and Sam Altman of OpenAI. Pascal Soriot, who heads drug-maker Astrazeneca — the most valuable company on the London Stock Exchange — was also in attendance.
Donald Trump and King Charles III were seated side by side throughout the banquet dinner. The king sat next to Mr Trump at the centre of the table, under a ceiling adorned with the coat of arms of every Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in 1348.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, was seated to the president’s right, while on the other side of the table, Queen Camilla sat next to Ms Trump and US Treasury chief Scott Bessent. Princess Anne, the only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was among other royal family representatives in St George's Hall. Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester and the first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, was also on the royal guest list.
Each table place at the banquet was afforded several glasses of specialty wine, including a Wiston Estate Cuvee 2016, Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello 2000, Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve 1998, and Domaine Bonneau du Martray Corton-Charlemagne grand cru 2018.
A special cocktail, the Transatlantic Whisky Sour, was also created for the banquet. It was designed as a twist on a whisky sour, made with Johnnie Walker Black, topped with a pecan foam and a toasted marshmallow and set on a star-shaped biscuit meant to evoke campfire s’mores.
The banquet dinner featured three courses, including a first course of Hampshire watercress panna cotta and a lengthy list of specialty wines. The after-dinner menu included Warre’s 1945 vintage port, a nod to Mr Trump as the 45th president of the United States, Hennessy 1912 Cognac Grande Champagne — from the year Mr Trump’s mother was born — and Bowmore Queen’s Cask 1989, Islay, bottled for Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
The opulent banquet menu included a first course of Hampshire watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad. The second course was Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettis, with a thyme and savoury infused jus, and dessert was a vanilla ice cream bombe with a Kentish raspberry sorbet interior and lightly poached Victoria plums.
I have read that the banquet costed UK taxpayers over £1million ($1.35million) for one evening only in what was a show of excess and vulgarity for these millionaire/billionaires to have a jolly good time. For me, during a rising cost of living crisis it is disgusting to see the elite enjoying every second of their lives while millions of people do not know what they will have on their plates the next day. and people are starving to death in Gaza,
All that glitters is corrupt. The vanity of the few matters more than the people. The true costs of such trips are rarely published but it’s estimated that Air Force One costs up to $200,000 (€170,000) an hour to fly. That’s before you add in the whole entourage, often hundreds strong, that comes along for the ride.
Many countries have been asking whether they can justify the extravagance of such state occasions while telling their citizens that there’s little money to spare for public services. Trump’s welcome in the UK has been so over the top that even Piers Morgan said he has never seen anything like it in his entire career covering the Royal Family. I simply can’t believe what I’ve seen in the UK over these past couple of days - pandering to this vile man-child’s ego?
Trump was greeted with flypasts and military parades. But what’s the publicity value of a state visit if you have to be kept away from the disgruntled citizens of the country that is supposed to welcome you?
Then have a banquet, while the rest of the UK is broken, and austerity measures are being implemented! 14 million people, including 3.8 million children, went hungry last year with malnutrition in UK children at Victorian levels. One in six households missed meals, and there are 2883 food banks in the UK. Food banks are now the ‘new normal’. All because of the decisions of many of those who sat around this table.
Your energy bills went up recently - again. Your food bills are continuing to rise steeply. Your council tax went up but the services go down. Yet in the last few days we’ve seen golden carriages travel through London and obscene inherited wealth like this monstrosity, King Charles and Trump are cut from the same cloth. Elites protecting elites while ordinary people pay the price. Perfect match, really.
There's so much wealth in the UK we shouldn't need food banks. Unfortunately, all that wealth is in the hands of the top 1-5% wealthiest! The majority of them couldn't care less if children and the elderly can't afford to buy food.
The trust in government and royalty is at very low levels now too! Charles is the corrupt billionaire-in-chief. He also avoids taxes wherever he can - it's time he paid his fair share. These parasites get to live lavish lives while millions of kids barely get to eat a proper meal. What the hell is wrong with society? Why are there so many children going without while these parasites walk around in tiaras worth millions? This is disgraceful. There is no greater signal that we must abolish the monarchy than the monarchy celebrating the presence of a narcissistic ogre like Donald Trump.
Animal Farm (1954). George Orwell.
No comments:
Post a Comment