Trump Set to Meet King Charles at Windsor Castle

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00:00So today, all about royal tradition then, Lizzie, something of which you also have, I believe, a certain affinity.

00:08I love the pomp, Tom. Every day is a day for pomp. And look, today it is all about that pomp and pageantry.

00:14In theory, it should be the low-risk day, although that's a relative term when it comes to President Trump.

00:20Of course, this isn't his first state visit. It's an unprecedented second.

00:24And Barack Obama and George W. Bush didn't get to come back a second time.

00:29And this is really what we do best here in the UK.

00:32But the risk is that we deploy our ace, the king, without getting anything substantive in return.

00:39And you may remember during Donald Trump's first state visit, they'd all just sat down for the state banquet at Buckingham Palace,

00:46everybody in their finery, only for an interview to break with the Sun newspaper in which Trump had criticised then-Prime Minister Theresa May.

00:54Indigestion for all, deeply embarrassing, and there are many potential pitfalls again this time.

01:00For example, Tom, you've got many UK officials worried that Trump will confront Starmer on his pledge to recognise Palestine.

01:08We have the UN General Assembly meeting in New York coming up next week.

01:12There's also the uncomfortable question of Jeffrey Epstein, Starmer just having lost his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson,

01:21over the deceased, disgraced financier.

01:24And Epstein, of course, is the tie that binds Starmer via Mandelson, the king via his brother Prince Andrew, and Donald Trump himself.

01:34So not only could there be painful small talk, there is the serious question,

01:39which may be posed to Starmer at the joint press conference at the end of this trip.

01:43Does he actually think that anyone with links to Epstein is fit for high office?

01:50Yes. And of course, when you think of Epstein, unfortunately, you also have to think about the royal family

01:54and the role of Prince Andrew and his friendship, of course, with the late disgraced financier.

01:59What role will the extended royal family play?

02:04Are all members getting involved in this?

02:06How are we? You've described them as the ace in the pack.

02:08The king is the ace in the pack.

02:10What other cards from the royal family is this UK government hoping to play?

02:17Well, the President and the First Lady are going to arrive here in Windsor to be greeted by the king and queen.

02:22As you say, they'll go on a carriage procession around the grounds of Windsor, avoiding any potential protests, I might add.

02:30But they'll be with the prince and princess of Wales.

02:34And we hear that Donald Trump took a shining to Prince William when they met in Paris last year.

02:39He said he was very handsome.

02:41So they're keen to deploy William on this visit as well.

02:45They'll then be having a private lunch.

02:47They'll lay a wreath on the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

02:52Of course, Donald Trump, very, very fond of the late queen.

02:55And we know that he loves royal tradition.

02:58He's gone from a Saudi oasis to a Dutch palace and now to Windsor Castle.

03:04We know the effect that the hand-signed invitation from King Charles III produced on Donald Trump back in February

03:11when Starmer delivered it to the White House.

03:13We got shunted to the front of the queue when it came to a trade deal.

03:18Britain now benefiting from lower tariffs than other U.S. allies.

03:23But the point, again, is that this soft power needs to translate into hard leverage for Britain

03:29when it comes to trade, when it comes to geopolitics, on the crucial issues of Ukraine and the Middle East as well.

03:37Because, frankly, this visit couldn't come at a worse time for UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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