During the first full day of his state visit to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump warmly complimented Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, calling her “so beautiful” in a friendly exchange at Windsor Castle.
As he greeted Kate and Prince William, Trump told the 43-year-old princess, “You’re beautiful, so beautiful.” Middleton, wearing a maroon dress with a matching hat and purse, smiled and shook hands with the president alongside Prince William, who wore a dark suit.
The two-day visit by President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, invited by King Charles III, marks a historic occasion, as Trump is the first elected leader to be invited for two separate state visits by a British monarch.
Last December, Trump had praised Prince William as “handsome” following a conversation they shared in Paris.
On Wednesday, the ceremonial welcome was followed by a private luncheon with the royal family. The couple then laid a wreath at the tomb of the late Queen Elizabeth II inside St. George’s Chapel.
The day concluded with a Beating Retreat ceremony, a historic military tradition dating back to the 17th century, symbolizing the closing of military camp gates and the lowering of ceremonial flags. Some 200 military musicians performed, including the British Massed Band and the US Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps, playing classic military tunes such as “Yankee Doodle Dandy” beneath an overcast sky.
The ceremony ended with applause from President Trump and King Charles as the Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force’s aerobatic team, performed a flyover.
