United States President Donald Trump was treated to a royal reception featuring gun salutes, soldiers on horseback and bagpipes as he met Wednesday with Britain’s King Charles III for a historic second state visit, which unfolded far from marching protesters.

The pair laughed and joked as Trump inspected troops at Windsor Castle, west of London, in an elaborate spectacle featuring a carriage procession designed to play into the mercurial American leader’s love of pomp and pageantry.

Some 120 horses, and 1,300 members of the British military — some in red tunics and gold plumed helmets — feted Trump during a ceremonial guard of honour that United Kingdom officials called the largest for a state visit to Britain in living memory.

The president and First Lady Melania Trump were greeted by heir-to-the-throne Prince William and wife Catherine at Windsor after stepping off the Marine One helicopter under grey skies at 12:15pm (1115 GMT).

Inside a ring of steel and out of sight from thousands of demonstrators shouting anti-Trump slogans in London, William and Catherine then walked Trump and his wife a short distance to meet the waiting Charles and Queen Camilla.

As the president shook hands with the king, a 41-gun salute was fired simultaneously from six World War One-era guns on the castle’s east lawn, as a similar display occurred at the Tower of London, in the centre of the capital.

The Trumps and the royals were then taken in a black and gold coach, surrounded by mounted cavalry, through the Windsor estate towards the nearly 1,000-year-old castle, where Trump and Charles inspected the guard of honour.

The pair were seen sharing smiles, and the president saluted as the US national anthem played, before the royals and their guests headed inside for lunch.

They exchanged gifts, with the royals giving Trump a book to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the US declaration of independence next year, and Trump gifting Charles a replica of President Dwight Eisenhower’s sword.

‘Warm my heart’

Britain is pulling out all the stops to dazzle and flatter the unpredictable Trump as the UK government tries to keep him onside during a host of international crises.

The 79-year-old Republican is, however, being kept far away from Britons as polls indicate he remains unpopular with the public, with the entire visit happening behind closed doors.

An estimated 3,000 people marched through central London waving Palestinian flags and displaying banners with slogans, including “Migrants welcome, Trump not welcome”.

“I’m just scared of the way the world’s being taken over by really nasty men,” Jo Williamson, a 58-year-old funeral director from Kent, southeast England, told AFP.

Trump is the first US president to receive two state visits, after his previous one with Queen Elizabeth II in 2019.

At Windsor, he laid a wreath on the tomb of Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, and viewed a collection of US-related items, including a letter sent from president Abraham Lincoln to Queen Victoria in 1862 after the death of Prince Albert.

The president and Charles will wrap up with a white-tie state banquet, where they are due to make speeches.

Trump’s unpredictability on everything from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza has caused global turmoil and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hoping the president leaves on Thursday feeling the warm glow of royal soft power — but there are no guarantees.

Epstein’s shadow

“A lot of things here warm my heart,” the president, whose mother hailed from Scotland and who owns two golf resorts in the country, said on arriving late on Tuesday at the US ambassador’s official residence in London.

The US leader may also relish a chance to escape a turbulent period at home, where the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk has caused deep turmoil.

But the spectre loomed of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who is providing domestic headaches for both Trump and Starmer.

Police arrested four people after they projected images of Trump and Epstein onto Windsor Castle late Tuesday.

Starmer will host Trump on the second day of the visit on Thursday at his country residence, Chequers.

The pair will be buoyed by the announcement of billions of pounds of investment in each other’s economies, including from British pharmaceutical group GSK and Google, but there could be awkward moments.

Starmer’s government seeks to cement the two nations’ “special relationship”, deepen economic ties, secure billions of dollars of investment, discuss tariffs and press the US president on Ukraine and Israel.

Companies including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and OpenAI have already pledged 31bn pounds ($42bn) in British investments over the next few years, in AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy.

Starmer also wants further progress on trade, after Britain secured the first deal with Trump to lower some tariffs. Talks may touch on remaining levies on steel, whisky and salmon.

“They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit,” Trump said when he left the White House for Britain on Tuesday.

But while Starmer is banking on the unrivalled royal allure helping cajole the Anglophile president, many pitfalls for Britain’s prime minister remain.

Polls show Trump is widely unpopular in Britain and Starmer, faced with plummeting poll ratings of his own and economic woes, will need to show that his royal trump card can reap benefits.

Starmer faces political troubles at home after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over his links to the late Epstein.

Awkward questions about Epstein could also come to the fore.

Commuters in the capital had mixed views about the visit, with some angry about the invitation and others saying it was smart politics and a good use of Britain’s soft power.

“We’re looking to sort of make the best of a bad situation,” said lawyer Kirstie Robertshaw, 54.

For Charles himself, the visit might provoke mixed emotions. He has little in common with Trump, from his 50 years championing environmental causes to his efforts to bring harmony between religions and his recent steadfast support for Canada, where he is head of state.

But the occasion will also afford him the greatest global attention since his coronation.

“If it goes well … I think this will go down as the most consequential event in his reign,” said historian Anthony Seldon.