Buckingham Palace has published the programme for the state visit by President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, revealing that the Princess of Wales will join the first lady to meet a Scout troop at Windsor and that the president will lay a wreath at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The palace said the president and first lady will be guests of King Charles and Queen Camilla from Wednesday 17 September to Thursday 18 September 2025 and will stay at Windsor Castle. On Wednesday morning the Trumps will be greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales before being formally welcomed by the King and Queen.
The Princess of Wales, who has been joint president of the Scouts since 2020, will join Mrs. Trump at Frogmore Gardens in Home Park to meet Chief Scout Dwayne Fields and members of the Scouts' Squirrels programme. The pair will learn about the Squirrels' "Go Wild" nature badge, which is awarded to young children with an interest in the natural world. Mrs. Trump is also scheduled to view Queen Mary's Dolls House and the Royal Library before travelling to Chequers to join her husband for the final day of the visit.
A royal salute will be fired from the east lawn of Windsor Castle and the Tower of London. The Trumps will take a carriage procession through the Windsor estate with King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales. The route will be lined with Armed Forces personnel and accompanied by three military bands from the Royal Marines, the Army and the Royal Air Force. President Trump will inspect a guard of honour made up of the State Colours of the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards and the Scots Guards — the palace said this is the first time three State Colours have featured in a single procession.
The president and first lady will view the State Dining Room and a display of American memorabilia in the Green Drawing Room. A private visit to the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II at St George's Chapel is scheduled, followed by a short tour of the chapel, a performance by the chapel choir and a flypast by the Red Arrows and UK and US F-35 aircraft. The events will conclude with a beating retreat ceremony and a state banquet at Windsor Castle, at which speeches are expected from both President Trump and the King.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said he intends to boycott the banquet to protest the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the palace announcement noted. The identity of the senior officials set to greet the Trumps on their arrival on Tuesday evening was left unclear in the published programme after the week saw the UK’s ambassador to the United States, Lord Mandelson, asked to step down amid scrutiny of his links to Jeffrey Epstein. The Trumps had been due to be greeted on Tuesday by Lord Mandelson and Viscount Hood, Lord-in-Waiting, on behalf of the King.
Thursday’s programme will begin at Chequers, where the president will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his wife, Lady Victoria, and view the Sir Winston Churchill archives held at the prime ministerial country residence. Mr. Trump is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with the prime minister and to attend a business reception hosted by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, before departing.
Buckingham Palace described the visit as an engagement between the sovereign, the royal family and the president and first lady. The published itinerary notes that the Trumps will stay overnight at Windsor Castle, a privilege previously afforded to Ronald Reagan in 1982.
The state visit follows that of French President Emmanuel Macron in July, during which a carriage procession passed through Windsor’s streets. The palace emphasised that the carriage ride for Mr. Trump will take place within the Windsor estate rather than through public streets.
The announcement underscores the unusual diplomatic nature of the visit. State visits traditionally include ceremonial and private elements and are typically offered to serving heads of state; the palace programme reiterated the dates and accommodation, saying: "The president of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by the first lady, Mrs Melania Trump, will pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom as the guests of Their Majesties The King and Queen, from Wednesday 17th September to Thursday 18th September 2025. The president and first lady will stay at Windsor Castle."
The detailed schedule, released by Buckingham Palace, sets out a mix of ceremonial honours, private audiences and public-facing events that will mark the two-day visit and reflect long-standing diplomatic protocols between the United Kingdom and the United States.