US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump disembark Air Force One after arriving at London Stansted Airport for a state visit on September 16, 2025 in Stansted, Essex. Photo: VCG

US President Donald Trump arrived in London on Tuesday evening for his second state visit to Britain, aiming to secure new trade and security agreements despite ongoing protests, Xinhua News Agency reported. US media called this visit "rare" as it made Trump the first US president to get a second state visit to the UK. 

According to Buckingham Palace, King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will welcome Trump and First Lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday. On Thursday, Trump and Starmer are scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting at Chequers, the prime minister's country residence.

State visits in Britain blend 21st-century diplomacy with royal pageantry. Trump's two-day trip comes complete with horse-drawn carriages, military honor guards and a glittering banquet inside a 1,000-year-old castle — all tailored to a president with a fondness for gilded splendor, according to Associated Press. 

Nearly 100 residents from Windsor and other parts of Britain, organized by the "Stop Trump Coalition" group, gathered along the streets outside Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, chanting slogans against the visit and waving placards reading "Stop Hate, Stop Trump" and "Hate Never Made Any Nation Great." Organizers said they plan to hold a larger demonstration in central London on Wednesday, according to Xinhua. 

Ahead of the visit, the British government announced more than 1.25 billion pounds ($1.7 billion) in private US investments in financial services and unveiled plans for a new nuclear power deal to be signed during Trump's stay.

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are expected to be among the business leaders in the US delegation. Trump and Starmer are set to sign a technology partnership - which Mandelson was key to striking - accompanied by major investments in nuclear power, life sciences and artificial intelligence data centers, according to Associated Press. 

The leaders are also expected to sign nuclear energy deals, expand cooperation on defense technology and explore ways to bolster ties between their financial hubs, according to the White House official.

The visit comes two months after Trump's private trip to Scotland, during which he met with Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a trip that also drew large demonstrations. 

At a time when US-Europe relations are in turmoil and Washington broadly views Europe as taking advantage of the US and posing a burden, Trump's visit to the UK mirrors he sees Britain differently from European countries, Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times.

To Trump, the UK is a strategic asset in America's Europe policy rather than a liability. This highlights the distinct, differentiated approach that characterizes Trump's policy toward Europe, said Li. 

When reporting on Trump's state visit, NPR reported that Trump "gets a rare second UK state visit." Associated Press said "Trump is the first US president to get a second state visit to the UK."

BBC explained that traditionally, US presidents serving a second term - such as Trump - are not offered a state visit. Instead, they are invited for tea or lunch with the monarch, as happened with former presidents Barack Obama and George W Bush.

However, in February Starmer handed Trump an invitation from King Charles III during a White House meeting to discuss a UK-US trade deal. Sir Keir said the invite was "truly historic" and "unprecedented."

Trump said it was a "great, great honor," according to BBC.

The evidence suggests that, in catering to Trump, Britain has proved to be effective; as a result, it has been better positioned to steer US policy toward Europe and the wider world in ways that align with British interests, said Li.