Trump praises King Charles in parting words at Windsor as he heads to Chequers for crunch talks with Starmer: Live updates

These are some of the final pictures of Donald Trump and King Charles following a formal farewell at Windsor Castle this morning.

Trump and Melania said their goodbyes to the monarch and Queen Camilla in the castle’s grand Green Corridor morning before the President headed to the Prime Minister’s country residence Chequers, ready to turn his attention to politics.

The four posed for a joint photograph together in the atmospheric corridor which is lined with gilt edged historic paintings and antique furniture.

Outside at the sovereign’s entrance, the King said a solo goodbye with Mr Trump shaking his hands warmly and placing his other hand on top. The president said ‘thank you very much, everybody. He’s a great gentleman and a great King’.

by James Tapsfield, UK Political Editor

An old joke asks: ‘how do porcupines mate?’ The inevitable punchline is: ‘Very carefully.’

Keir Starmer might be feeling a similar imperative as he prepares for his moment of truth with Donald Trump today.

The PM has been desperately burnishing his own – entirely platonic – Special Relationship with the leader of the world’s most powerful nation.

Downing Street calculates that the massive AI investment boost, shielding from ‘beautiful’ trade tariffs, and ability to influence America on crucial issues like Ukraine make the risks worthwhile.

But Sir Keir has not secured everything he wanted, with the promised zero tariffs on steel exports failing to materialise.

And he is painfully aware of the dangers of getting too close to Mr Trump.

Although the president has appeared determined not to discomfort his hosts so far – turning on the charm for his day with the King – he is notoriously unpredictable.

The media are eagerly awaiting one of Mr Trump’s free-form, extended press conferences this afternoon.

Spikiness on issues such as Lord Mandelson’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, Gaza, MAGA’s view of free speech in the UK, and Putin looks almost inevitable.

Sir Keir will have to be an extremely careful wooer to escape the encounter without a scratch.

Here’s the moment Donald Trump departed from Windsor Castle where he spent the first day of his second UK State Visit.

The President is heading to Chequers, Keir Starmer’s country retreat in Buckinghamshire, this morning for talks about US investment into Britain.

Donald Trump bid farewell to the Royal Family at Windsor Castle this morning before heading for talks with Sir Keir Starmer at his grace and favour country home.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted the Trumps overnight at the Berkshire castle, where they stayed in a ‘spectacular room with the most spectacular views’.

Although brief, the royal segment of Mr Trump’s state visit has been viewed as a crucial precursor to important trade and military negotiations taking place today. One diplomatic source told the Mail: ‘I think we can safely say it’s been a triumph.’

This morning, the Windsor Castle detachment of The King’s Guard was turned out in the castle Quadrangle in a final show of pomp and pageantry. However while her husband departed, the First Lady will stay on by herself for another couple of hours.

Read our breaking news story here:

Donald Trump has left Windsor Castle as he makes his way to Chequers for talks with Keir Starmer.

Cameras captured Trump and King Charles speaking on stone steps outside the castle where the President described the monarch as a ‘great gentleman and a great king’.

Charles and Trump emerged from the wooden doors of Sovereign’s Entance at Windsor Castle at 10:20am.

They shook hands and chatted before Trump clasped the king’s hands with both of his, pausing to look at cameras and call the king ‘a great king’ and a ‘great gentleman.’

A royal guard stood on the quadrangle inside the castle grounds, behind the Beast, as Trump made his departure; one played a bugle as the Beast rolled slowly out. Trump departed at 10:23 am.

Donald and Melania Trump have stayed in a ‘spectacular room with the most spectacular views’ at Windsor Castle overnight during their state visit to Britain.

The US President and the First Lady spent the night at the royal residence in a grand guest suite which is thought to have a double bedroom and a spare single room.

The reason for the two rooms is said to be linked to a tradition that if a husband goes to bed later than his wife, he can sleep in another place without disturbing her.

Buckingham Palace would not tell the Mail exactly where the Trumps were staying last night, but it is believed to have been in one of the castle’s grand guest suites.

The Trumps are likely to stay in one of the principal rooms along the front of the castle which have views across The Long Walk and wider Berkshire landscape.

Read the full story here:

Watch our live stream from Windsor Castle as President Donald Trump says farewell to the Royal Family:

As Donald Trump prepares to leave Windsor, the First Lady will stay on by herself for another couple of hours.

She will be first escorted by the Queen to Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, the largest and most famous dolls’ house in the world.

Built between 1921 and 1924 for Queen Mary, consort of King George V, by the leading British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens, it contains tiny works from over 1,500 of the finest artists, craftspeople and manufacturers of the early 20th century.

Melania, 55, will then be given a tour of the Royal Library and some of its priceless treasures.

Afterwards she will join the Princess of Wales for a fun final engagement with the Scouts’ Squirrels programme in Frogmore Gardens.

by Rebecca English, Royal Editor

The King and Queen will bade a fond farewell to US President Donald Trump and the First Lady today following what has been declared as a ‘triumph’ of an historic State Visit.

Last night’s state banquet was full of warm praise all round, with Mr Trump making no secret of his admiration not only for the King, but his wife and the Prince and Princess of Wales.

Indeed, he described the invitation to travel to the UK for an unprecedented second time as ‘one of the highest honours’ of his life.

Although brief, the royal segment of his three-day visit was seen as a crucial precursor to important trade and military negotiations.

One diplomatic source told the Mail today: ‘I think we can safely say it’s been a triumph.’

Today King Charles formally said farewell to his guests, along with Queen Camilla, before the President departed to be met by the Prime Minister at Chequers.

The Windsor Castle detachment of The King’s Guard was turned out in the castle Quadrangle in a final show of pomp and pageantry.

Keir Starmer is bracing for potential ‘Trump bombs’ as the state visit turns to politics today.

After a first day focused on pomp and ceremony at Windsor, the US president will travel to the PM’s Chequers country retreat.

Although Mr Trump has appeared determined not to do anything to discomfort his hosts so far, a slew of awkward issues could arise when the leaders take a joint press conference this afternoon.

Here’s three landmines that could spark trouble for the Special Relationship:

Downing Street is braced for a barrage of questions about what Sir Keir knew about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with notorious paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The subject is particularly sensitive because of Mr Trump’s travails over his own relationship with Epstein. One Whitehall source said: ‘The PM does not want to talk about Mandelson at all, let alone Epstein, and everyone is acutely aware that Trump doesn’t want to talk about Epstein either.

Keir Starmer is braced to recognise a Palestinian state over the weekend after taking an increasingly critical stance of Israel over its war in Gaza. Starmer has held off on formally announcing the UK will recognise a Palestinian state until after Mr Trump leaves for fear it could dominate a Thursday news conference the two men plan to hold, according to the Times. The Prime Minister has found himself at odds with the US administration over the move, which is opposed to official recognition of Palestine.

Starmer has already rebutted Trump’s Vice-President JD Vance who said free speech was under threat across Europe and denounced Nigel Farage who claimed to US Congress Britain had become like North Korea in its approach to free speech following the arrest of Irish comedy writer Graham Linehan.

A Treasury minister insisted the Government was ‘standing up for British industry’ as he faced questions about the shelving of plans to eliminate US tariffs on UK steel.

Asked whether hopes had been abandoned of securing the reduction in the levy, which stands at 25%, Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray told Sky News:

Let me put it in context, because we’re obviously the only country to avoid the 50% tariffs and that’s as a result of the deal that the Prime Minister struck with President Trump.

It was put to him that the tariffs were higher than they were a year ago, to which he responded:

We’re standing up for British industry and the context is the 50% tariffs and were the only country to avoid them.

Keir Starmer’s hopes to eliminate Donald Trump’s ‘beautiful’ tariffs on steel imports from Britain appear to have been dashed with no agreement apparently reached between the two nations.

A US-UK deal signed earlier this year slashed trade barriers on a number of goods for both countries but left British steel exports standing at 25%, rather than falling to zero as originally agreed.

Officials have since been working to secure a more favourable arrangement for the sector, which has struggled with high energy prices, increased tariffs and global overcapacity.

However, it emerged on the eve of Trump’s second state visit to Britain that efforts to slash the levy to zero had been put on ice.

The US president had hinted at possible tariff relief for British steel as he boarded Air Force One earlier on Tuesday, but Downing Street would not be drawn on the scope for movement ahead of the two-day stay.

‘We’ve made a deal, and it’s a great deal, and I’m into helping them,’ he said.

On the face of it, the relationship may seem far from a match made in heaven.

On the one hand you have a Trump, a charismatic showman who often shows little respect for his country’s institutions.

And on the other you have Starner, a serious technocrat whose personal ratings have worsened despite his insistence on putting the country first and his party second.

Yet, the leaders have struck up an unlikely bromance which was on full display in the Oval Office earlier this year.

In an extraordinary 30-minute exchange at the White House, the President and Prime Minister lavished each other with praise and played down the vast political gulf between them.

In July, Trump told reporters during a private visit to Scotland: ‘The prime minister’s done a great job. I want to just tell that to the people of the United Kingdom. He’s done a very, very good job.’

But with the UK and US increasingly growing apart on Israel and tensions surrounding free speech most noticeably highlighted by Nigel Farage, can the men’s special relationship shine in Buckinghamshire today.

Donald Trump today concludes his second state UK visit which he described last night as his ‘highest honour’ with the President the only leader to twice receive the red carpet treatment in Britain.

It may be the President’s last day but he has a packed schedule as he travels to Chequers where Keir Starmer will host him for his last few hours.

Here’s what to expect today:

• Donald Trump will say farewell to the Royal Family at Windsor Castle before leaving for Chequers in Buckinghamshire
• First Lady Melania will stay behind and join Queen Camilla on a tour of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House in Windsor
• After arriving at Chequers, Trump and Starmer will hold a bilateral meeting
• Melania and Kate are expected to carry out a rare joint engagement in Frogmore Gardens where they will meet Britain’s Chief Scout
• Trump and Starmer are expected to speak at a business event before a Red Devils parachute display – he will also be joined by Melania
• The two leaders will then take part in a press conference which has been highlighted as a possible moment of jeopardy for Starmer.
• The Trumps will leave Chequers and travel to London Stansted where they will board Air Force One to Joint Base Andrews

Rachel Reeves will host a business reception in Downing Street for bosses at top US and UK financial firms, including BlackRock, Barclays and Blackstone in a bid to highlight Transatlantic economic co-operation.

It comes after the Government announced £150 billion worth of investment will flow to the UK from the US by huge American companies including Blackstone and Palantir.

Starmer and Trump will also sign a technology prosperity deal at the Buckinghamshire estate.

The two men will also meet investors including bosses from GSK, Microsoft and Rolls-Royce while Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio will also have face-to-face talks at Chequers.

However, there are still questions about what the US might want in return – after a push to water down the UK’s digital services tax.

President Donald Trump hailed the special relationship between his country and Britain as he paid a gushing tribute to King Charles during his historic second state visit, calling it one of the highest honours of his life.

Here, the Daily Mail reveals the leader of the free world’s subtle acts of kindness and compliments which you might have missed.

From the very outset, the British strategy for the visit of President Donald Trump had been a simple one: just push the boat out. In the event, it was more of an aircraft carrier.

All State visits are special but this one has taken specialness to a new level, as the President himself acknowledged at last night’s State Banquet. ‘This is truly one of the highest honours of my life,’ he said in a speech rich in praise for both the King and Britain.

No detail was too tiny. Even the after-dinner cognac had been chosen from 1912, the year of Mr Trump’s mother’s birth, while the port was from 1945, a nod to his election as America’s 45th President. No matter that he is teetotal. It’s the thought that counts.

Read the full article by Robert Hardman below:

Windsor Castle last night served as the glittering backdrop for one of the biggest shows of royal power in decades.

US President Donald Trump was feted with a regal banquet at the end of the first day of his unprecedented second State visit.

While he and the King swapped speeches and sat at the centre of the grand table, most eyes were on the trio of leading ladies.

The Princess of Wales was a vision in a couture gown by British designer Phillipa Lepley, over which she sported a full-length, hand-embroidered gold chantilly lace evening coat. She also wore earrings belonging to the late Queen and her favourite Lover’s Knot tiara.

Queen Camilla sported sapphire, from her tiara to the colour of her embroidered Fiona Clare dress.

Meanwhile, First Lady Melania Trump struck a note of modern style in an off-shoulder yellow dress with a clashing purple belt.

King Charles last night praised Donald Trump’s efforts to make peace around the globe.

Since being elected to office Mr Trump has sought to be known as a peacemaker and made no secret of the fact that he covets a Nobel prize.

Our countries are working together in support of crucial diplomatic efforts, not least of which, Mr President, is your own personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable conflicts, in order to secure peace.

The monarch also emphasised the importance of protecting nature for future generations.

In striving for a better world, we also have a precious opportunity to safeguard and to restore the wonders and beauty of nature for the generations who follow us. We share the ambition, and determination, to preserve our majestic lands and waters; above all, to ensure that we have clean water, clean air and clean food.

President Donald Trump paid a heartfelt tribute to America’s relationship with the UK saying the word ‘special does not begin to do it justice’.

The US leader also heaped praise on the King describing his as a ‘very, very special man’, listing a catalogue of his passions from the environment to architecture during a banquet staged in his honour to mark Mr Trump’s second historic state visit.

He singled out Charles’s ‘really amazing’ son and heir the Prince of Wales for a mention and the “beautiful” Princess of Wales sitting next to the president.

Mr Trump told the guests, who included media mogul Rupert Murdoch, gathered in Windsor Castle’s St George’s Hall:

Seen from American eyes the word special does not begin to do it justice.

We’re joined by history and faith, by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny. We’re like two notes in one chord or two verses of the same poem, each beautiful on its own, but really meant to be played together. The bond of kinship and identity between America and the United Kingdom is priceless and eternal.

President Donald Trump praised ‘radiant’ and ‘healthy’ Princess Kate as he delivered a toast Wednesday night to King Charles at a lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle.

The president of the United States found himself sandwiched between the king and Kate Middleton, while First Lady Melania Trump and Queen Camilla sat across from their husbands.

He spoke highly of both royals.

Trump told Prince William, who was seated across the grand table, that ‘we’ve gotten to know you’ and the future king will have an ‘unbelievable success in the future.’

‘Melania and I are delighted to visit again with Prince William and to see Her Royal Highness, Princess Catherine, so radiant and so healthy and so beautiful,’ Trump said.

While Donald Trump heads to Chequers, his First Lady Melania will attend her first joint engagement with the Princess of Wales in Windsor.

In a rare move, the women will meet this morning in Frogmore Gardens where they will meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts’ Squirrels programme.

It comes after Kate and William played a major role in welcoming the Trumps on the first full day of their state visit by greeting them off their Marine One helicopter.

The Prime Minister is set to face further embarrassment about his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the US today when he holds a joint press conference with Donald Trump.

Downing Street is braced for a barrage of questions about what he knew about Lord Mandelson’s relationship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein when he stands alongside the President at the event at Chequers this afternoon.

The subject has been made even more sensitive by Mr Trump’s travails over his own relationship with Epstein.

One Whitehall source said: ‘The PM does not want to talk about Mandelson at all, let alone Epstein, and everyone is acutely aware that Trump doesn’t want to talk about Epstein either.

‘But there are obviously going to be questions and trying to answer them in a way that does not aggravate Trump is a nightmare prospect. The whole thing looks very fraught.’

The PM has faced serious questions about his judgment after he publicly backed Lord Mandelson to stay on, despite his well-known friendship with Epstein, and then sacked him the following day.

Read the full story by the Daily Mail’s Political Editor Jason Groves below:

American investment worth £150 billion has been unveiled as part of US President Donald Trump’s historic second state visit.

Some 7,600 ‘high quality’ jobs will be created across the country as a result of the influx of cash from big US firms, according to the Government.

Sir Keir Starmer welcomed the announcement, ahead of a day of high-level discussions with Mr Trump at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country home.

When we back British brilliance, champion our world-class industries, and forge deeper global alliances — especially with friends like the US — we help shape the future for generations to come and make people across the country better off.

Among the firms pledging investment in the UK are asset management company Blackstone, which will invest £90 billion cash on top of £10 billion previously announced to develop data centres.

Others include investment firm Prologis, pledging £3.9 billion, and software company Palantir, pledging £1.5 billion.

The new flow of cash from the US into the UK comes as Sir Keir and Mr Trump are expected to sign a new technology prosperity deal when they meet on Thursday.

Sir Keir Starmer will host Donald Trump at his grace and favour country home today as the Prime Minister continues his campaign to woo the US president.

The Prime Minister is hoping to keep the focus of the visit on an influx of American investment into the UK, all while both his Government and the Trump administration are plagued by scandals related to the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Overnight, Sir Keir announced the prospect of some £150 billion flowing into the UK from big US firms such as Blackstone and Palantir.

As Sir Keir and Mr Trump meet at Chequers – the Prime Minister’s estate in Buckinghamshire – they also plan to sign a technology prosperity deal, touted as offering major investment by US tech firms in Britain, that will help to develop its AI capabilities.

Questions have, however, begun to arise over what American companies may want in return, with suggestions a tax on digital services – which largely impacts on US companies – could be reduced or eliminated.

Hopes that a deal aimed at reducing steel tariffs on British imports to the US could be hammered out during the state visit, meanwhile, appear to have fallen by the wayside, media reports have suggested.

Hello and welcome to the Daily Mail’s live coverage of Donald Trump’s final day of his unprecedented second UK state visit.

After spending the day rubbing shoulders with the royals at Windsor Castle on Wednesday, Trump will shift his attention to politics as the President is hosted by Keir Starmer at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country retreat.

The leaders plan to announce a new technology partnership billed as a major investment by US tech firms in Britain, but questions have been raised over what American companies may want in return.

A press conference scheduled for this afternoon could prove to be the moment of most jeopardy for what has been a carefully choreographed visit, as questions about Lord Peter Mandelson and Mr Trump’s links to the late Epstein will likely arise.

Meanwhile, the First Lady Melania Trump and the Princess of Wales are expected to join forces at Windsor this morning when they meet the Scouts in their first joint engagement.

Stick with us throughout the day as we bring you the latest developments from our team of reporters in London and New York.