Protests against the US President Donald Trump will be taking place in London during the state visit
Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK later this month will see a major policing operation led by drones from the airspace over Windsor, police have said. King Charles is to host the US president and his wife, first lady Melania Trump, at Windsor Castle from Wednesday, September 17 to Friday, September 19, where they will be feted with a ceremonial welcome and state banquet.
The event will be Trump’s second state visit to the UK, an unprecedented gesture towards a US president, having previously been feted by a state visit in 2019. A 24/7 policing operation will be in place, with a temporary order restricting the airspace over Windsor from September 16 – when the state visit rehearsal is to take place – until September 18. This means non-police drones and smaller aircraft cannot fly through the protected area, Thames Valley Police officers said on Monday (September 8) during a drone-flying demonstration.
“It’s a significant policing operation for us,” Inspector Matthew Wilkinson, airspace bronze commander for Thames Valley Police, said. “However Thames Valley Police is proud to host these events and we have a good history of putting on these events for both the Royal Family and the country.”
Asked about the scale of the drone operation for the US president’s state visit compared to other high profile events, Insp Wilkinson replied: “It’s one of the larger ones. It’s in line with other large-scale events we’ve put on as a force. Obviously every event carries on its own challenges and threats, and we’ll assess that and resource it accordingly.”
Speaking on the restricted airspace order, Insp Wilkinson said the public in Windsor will be kept informed. “We are engaging with the local businesses, local communities, hobbyist drone enthusiasts, gliding schools and things like that, to try and share that message, so it’s not a surprise for anybody,” he said.
“Obviously it’s an offence to fly a drone in a restricted airspace and we will have resources to deal with any of those incursions. We will have plenty of capability in the sky when the time is appropriate,” he said, adding the drones will act as an “eye in the sky” during the event.
Each drone can fly up to 120 metres (400ft) and is expected to stay up for 30 minutes at a time during the operation, with the replacement drone taking off shortly before the end of that period so as not to lose coverage.
Donald Trump’s London plan and why he won’t be staying at Buckingham Palace
It has been announced that King Charles will host Trump at Windsor Castle because Buckingham Palace is still undergoing significant renovations. Trump though has made it clear he ‘certainly’ plans on going to London during the state visit.
During a press conference in July with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, when Trump was in Scotland for a four-day informal summer visit, the President was asked if he will visit London during his state visit and his instant reply was “I will”. Trump then went on to attack the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan, stating: “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job, the mayor of London… a nasty person.”
Sitting beside the president, Mr Starmer intervened when Trump condemned Sir Sadiq, saying: “He’s a friend of mine, actually.” Trump finished answering the question by again stating he will “certainly visit London”. It is fair to say Trump and Sir Sadiq aren’t the best of friends, with Trump calling the mayor a ‘stone cold loser’ before his first state visit.
Since the July press conference attack, Sir Sadiq said such comments are “water off a duck’s back” and added he will be “more than happy” to meet Donald Trump in London during the state visit despite warning that the US President could be “inadvertently radicalising people” and is “not a force for good”.
Sir Sadiq, speaking at the Political Party show with comedian Matt Forde, hit back at the US President, saying: “Somebody who has views like he does about black people, about women, about gays, about Muslims, about Mexicans, thinks I’m nasty. Really. He is the leader of the free world, arguably the most powerful man in the world, and really.”
He spoke out as he said that records showed since the middle of January this year – when Mr Trump began his second term in the White House – and July “there have never been more Americans applying to British citizenship and living in London”. The Mayor said: “So I think Americans have got good taste by and large.”
He added that he hoped the President would come to London during his state visit to the UK next month, with Sir Sadiq stressing the “diversity” of the capital was a “strength, not a weakness”. Speaking about this diversity, he insisted: “I think it makes us stronger not weaker, richer not poorer.
“And when President Trump says some of the things he does, it brings from the periphery to the mainstream, views that are potentially dangerous. He inadvertently – I’m not going to suggest he does it deliberately – he inadvertently could be radicalising people with views that could lead to them doing things that are dangerous.”
What will Trump do during the state visit?
As yet the full programme of events scheduled for the state visit has not yet been announced but, like all state visits, it will include a full ceremonial welcome. It has been confirmed a state banquet will be held in St George’s Hall in Windsor Castle. State visits are usually attended by a full turn out of senior royals, such as the King and Queen and Prince and Princess of Wales.
The House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump’s visit as it will be in recess for party conference season, meaning the president will not be able to address Parliament as French President Emmanuel Macron did during his state visit last week. However, the House of Lords will be sitting.
However, Trump’s programme is not expected to feature public events. As in 2019, it is thought he will mostly travel by helicopter. On the first day of his state visit in 2019 Trump landed at Stansted Airport in Air Force One before meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace, where they had a private lunch and viewed a special exhibition of items of historical significance to the United States from the Royal Collection. Trump also visited Westminster Abbey for a tour, and the president placed a wreath at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
Are protests expected in London during Trump’s state visit?
A “massive” protest against Trump will last for hours through the streets of London on the first day of state visit. On September 17 – the first day of Mr Trump’s visit – demonstrators will assemble at London’s Embankment at 2pm and march to a 5pm rally at an as-yet-undisclosed location. Further protests, including one near Windsor Castle, are set to be confirmed once more details of Trump’s visit is known.
The Stop Trump Coalition has yet to confirm whether the famous inflatable effigy, which depicts the US president as an angry baby in a nappy clutching a mobile phone, will make a reappearance. The original was donated to the Museum of London in 2021.
The Stop Trump Coalition’s spokesperson Seema Syeda said: “This will be a massive protest against Trump’s state visit. Trump and his authoritarian politics are not welcome here. Keir Starmer should not be rolling out the red carpet for Trump. They are already running scared. They have chosen the first possible date that stops Trump from being able to address Parliament.
“We know that Trump is deeply unpopular with the public. We mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against Trump during his first term, and he has only got worse since then. We are working at speed to bring together all the movements – for democracy, for equality, against climate change, for a free Palestine – to show our unity against Trump.”
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