LONDON — President Donald Trump capped the Windsor Castle portion of his United Kingdom state visit with a lavish state banquet Wednesday night.
At the dinner, a white-tie affair, Trump and King Charles III were seated at the head of the table, a 155-foot behemoth that British royal officials had been constructing for two days. Secretary of State Marco Rubio sat to Charles’s left and Catherine, Princess of Wales, on Trump’s right.
The president was in full evening dress, while the first lady wore a yellow gown complemented by a pink belt.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Queen Camilla, first lady Melania Trump, and William, Prince of Wales, were seated from left to right across from Trump and Charles.
Prior to the meal, both the president and the king delivered a toast.
Charles, speaking first, said that, approaching the 250th anniversary of America’s Declaration of Independence, it is “remarkable to think just how far we’ve come.”
“I cannot help but wonder what our forebears from 1776 would make of this friendship today,” the king continued, remarking on the U.S.-U.K.’s joint commitments on technological innovation and defense, particularly in the face of “tyranny” threatening Ukraine and the rest of Europe. “Mr. President, from York to New York, from Birmingham, England to Birmingham, Alabama, we are united by a common language and shared heritage.”
Following Charles’s remarks, the room stood for a playing of the Star-Spangled Banner, before it was Trump’s turn for a toast.
The president opened by stating that this trip, the first time the crown has hosted a foreign leader for a second state visit, was “truly one of the highest honors” of his life.
The president offered many of the same platitudes as the king, albeit delivered in his own Trumpian style.
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“We’ve done more good for humanity than any two countries in all of history,” Trump said. “Together, we must defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are, and we must continue to stand for the values of the people of the English-speaking world, and we do indeed stand for that. On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to one of the great friendships, to two great countries, and to His Majesty, King Charles III — a very, very special man and also a very, very special queen.”
In total, the dinner featured 154 other guests. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Tiffany Trump, and British golfer Sir Nick Faldo were all in attendance, as were numerous business and technology executives, including media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
The menu itself was similarly impressive, boasting a starter of Hampshire watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes, served in a thyme and savoury infused jus, as the main, and a dessert of vanilla ice cream bombe with a Kentish raspberry sorbet, served with lightly poached Victoria plums.
Trump himself does not drink alcohol, but that didn’t stop the crown from providing an expansive, and expensive, wine and spirits menu, featuring a California red, English sparkling wine, a French white, and Pol Roger’s Extra Cuvée de Réserve (1998), as British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, a self-proclaimed political hero of the president, reportedly held Pol Roger as his favorite champagne.
Furthermore, the palace served every guest a glass of Warre’s 1945 Vintage Port, a nod to Trump’s turn as the 45th president during his first year in office; Hennessy 1912 Cognac Grande Champagne, in honor of Trump’s mother’s birth year; and Bowmore Queen’s Cask 1980 Islay, which had been gifted to Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 and bottled in 2002 in celebration of her golden jubilee.
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To top it all off, guests could partake in a specialty cocktail crafted for the evening: the trans-Atlantic whiskey sour. White House officials told reporters the drink blended Johnnie Walker Black Label, marmalade, pecan foam, and a garnish of toasted marshmallow set on a star-shaped biscuit, “evoking the warmth of a fireside S’more.”
Royal officials opted to decorate the room with flowers and herbs handpicked from the Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park gardens.