Beneath Windsor Castle’s gilded ceilings and centuries-old armour, US President Donald Trump was hosted to a lavish state banquet on Wednesday — his second such visit to the UK, an unprecedented honour.
The 160-guest dinner, presided over by King Charles III, mixed diplomatic symbolism with fine dining. Every seat, every neighbour, and every toast was carefully choreographed, underscoring that state banquets are as much about politics as pageantry.
Unlike the 2019 event, the guest list avoided celebrity glitter. Instead, the tables brimmed with royals, political heavyweights, and business leaders whose companies wield influence measured in trillions of dollars.
Big Money, Big Influence
Among the business titans were Apple’s Tim Cook, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, and Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman. Together, their companies are worth nearly $10 trillion — four times the size of the UK economy.
In a sign of their importance, US executives pledged a staggering £150bn in UK investment, with Blackstone alone committing £90bn. Schwarzman was seated beside Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch — despite Trump suing one of his papers — found himself next to Starmer’s political adviser Morgan McSweeney.
The UK government insists that this influx of US capital will not come at the cost of watering down its digital services tax or online safety laws. But critics warn that the country risks dependency on a handful of American giants, echoing warnings from former Deputy PM Sir Nick Clegg about becoming a “vassal state.”
Trump’s Inner Circle
Nearly two dozen seats went to Trump’s family and closest aides. First Lady Melania Trump sat across from her husband, flanked by Queen Camilla and Prince William, while Catherine, Princess of Wales, was placed beside the president himself.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was positioned next to King Charles, with Lady Victoria Starmer on his other side. Tiffany Trump, the only one of Trump’s children present, attended with her husband Michael Boulos, who was given a prominent seat beside the Princess of Wales.
Strategic pairings abounded: Trump’s real estate ally and envoy Steve Witkoff sat beside Jonathan Powell, Starmer’s national security adviser. White House Chief of Staff Susan Wiles — Trump’s formidable campaign manager — dined alongside the King’s private secretary Sir Clive Alderton. And Trump’s AI and crypto tsar David Sacks was matched with Demis Hassabis, CEO of Google’s DeepMind.
Royals in the Mix
King Charles sat between Trump and Rubio, while Queen Camilla’s neighbours included Melania Trump and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Prince William dined beside Paula Reynolds, chair of National Grid, while Princess Anne was seated with racehorse trainer John Gosden and US ambassador Warren Stephens.
Other royals mingled with White House operatives: Princess Anne’s husband Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence was paired with Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff; the Duke of Gloucester sat beside Dan Scavino, Trump’s communications aide; and the Duchess of Gloucester was seated with James Blair, a senior political strategist in the Trump administration.
Diplomacy Over Dinner
While the menu featured traditional British fine dining and custom cocktails, the evening’s substance was clear: diplomacy dressed as ceremony. The banquet showcased the deepening ties between Trump’s Washington and Starmer’s London — ties underpinned by billions in promised US investment, but shadowed by questions over the UK’s future independence in tech and finance.
