LONDON (AP) – Windsor Castle staff sets a 50-meter (164-foot) mahogany table. The groom is polishing the hoof of a horse pulling a royal carriage. And the military honor guards are drilling to ensure that every stage lands accurately.
Through the halls and grounds of almost 1,000 years old castles in western London, hundreds of people are working to take part in the best possible show when Charles III welcomes the US president for this week’s historic visit to the second state.
Featuring sparkling tiaras, brass bands and a gorgeous banquet offered in 200-year-old silver, the visit is a display of dignity and ceremony that the UK doesn’t like with anyone else. But it is a purposeful sight. It is to strengthen connection with one of the world’s most powerful men as America’s first policy is shaking years of trade and security ties.
“We’re buttering him,” said Robert Lacey, the royal historian and consultant for the Netflix series The Crown.
“If he had no chance to stay at Windsor Castle and perhaps he had no chance to praise him so much and to pay respect to meet the king, he would not come to England.”
Soft power in operation
After the British kings and queens give up political power and settled into the role of ritual heads of state, the royal family remains three centuries after it remained The robust instrument of “Soft Power” used by elected governments to reward the concessions of friends and necks from their passive allies.
Visiting the state is a monarchy The ultimate tool, world leaders are competing for complete royal treatment.
During her 70 years on the throne, the late Queen Elizabeth II hosted everyone from Romanian dictator Nicolae Kouszhuk to South Africa’s President Nelson Mandela.
The Royals have also hosted the past four US presidents, but not all of them were full-fledged state visits.
A purposeful hospitality
Under the influence of It’s difficult to quantify soft power. Martin Far, an expert on contemporary British history at Newcastle University, said:
Six years ago, the UK called for support from Trump, who was preparing to leave the European Union. This time, the UK is lobbying for favorable terms of trade, which will help combat Russian attacks in Ukraine.
“The new President Trump, the new prime minister, another government, but the same sense of panic and the biggest lever you can pull with this president is to try and try him on something that he really impressed with the fact that he is a monarchy and that his mother was of course born,” Far said.
So Kiel Prime Minister Starmer rushed to Washington in February, just five weeks after Trump began his second term, giving him the King’s invitation to visit the nation.
It was the first time a world leader has received honor The second visit to the province and for the first time the invitation was delivered in a personal letter from the king.
“It’s a great, a great honor, and I’ll say that in Windsor,” Trump said he praised the king. “It’s really something.”
Dignity and circumstances
There is a lot of glamour for the president who gold-plated oval offices Plans to build a White House Ballroom For 650 guests.
Meat of the visit will begin the following day while the president and first lady Melania Trump arrive in the UK late Tuesday.
After welcoming Trump, Charles and Queen Camilla accompany them on a carriage passing through the Windsor Estate, returning to the castle along a path lined with members of the army.
Inside the walls of the castle, which conqueror William began construction in 1070, military bands will play the national anthem of both countries, with Charles and Trump reviewing the guards of honor in scarlet tunics and tall bearskin hats.
After months of rehearsals, hundreds of servicemen take part in the ritual (cavalry, foot guards, musicians).
When the rifle is shoulder-to-shoulder, it comes with a single distortion. When the boots hit the ground, they do so in unison. “God Saves the King” and “The Banners Spit out by the Stars” will be perfect.
Emphasis on history
After the welcoming ceremony, Trump sees an exhibition of documents and artwork compiled to highlight the shared history of the UK and the US.
However, the highlight of the visit will be at the state banquet on Wednesday night, with men wearing white ties and tail coats, and women wearing designer gowns and jewelry that shine in the flirty lights of the antique candelabra.
“Tiaras will be powerful,” said Hugo Vickers, a royal historian and author of “Alice,” as it was a biography of the mother of the late Prince Philip. “It all looks so great.”
Dinner for many people
The King and Queen join guests around a huge waterloo table with space for 160 guests, about half the length of the soccer field. It takes 5 days to set up the table. The tables will be laid with over 4,000 silver dining services, Grand Service, from dishes to dinner plates and egg cups.
Vickers said silver and rituals pave the way for mediation. Elizabeth believed that it was a way to solve even manageable problems.
“Kiel Starmer, in a way, cleverly used the king to lure President Trump here and gave him a lot of fun,” he said. “And (it’s) all the goodwill to engage at this point, all the goodwill to talk to him, and so on, if there’s hope to sort out Ukraine, etc.
Those discussions take place on Thursday, when Trump and Starme meet in the UK Prime Minister’s rural property, Checkers.
