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Donald Trump, as the King said goodbye, couldn't contain himself. Addressing the cameras, as he always does, he said: "He's a great gentleman. He's a great King."
Months of planning, days of rehearsals and a dinner party that took almost a week to prepare, the financial and reputational cost of this state visit, with the UK hosting such a controversial figure, has been enormous. But it seems to have been worth it, at least for now.
The open-air celebrations are not in their style at the palace, which is ironic when you consider that yesterday's military display was anything but simple. But overall, it feels like a job well done, and in no small part because of the King. With the pressure to make sure nothing goes wrong and that Donald Trump feels as welcome as possible, it would have been easy for our efforts to seem strained.
Arranging the largest reception in living memory was certainly no small feat, but the King's easygoing approach was a masterful way to make friends and influence people. In fact, Donald Trump, as the King said goodbye, couldn't contain himself. Addressing the cameras, as he always does, he said: "He's a great gentleman. He's a great King."
His Majesty looked embarrassed; Number 10 and the Foreign Office would have pretended not to have worked well. He was walking towards them at Chequers, his head full of glitter, hoping that the politics that was coming would now be easy.
At the state banquet, we had already seen how they had been determined to use the president’s perception that he and the King were friends to exert maximum influence. Usually, we got His Majesty’s speech in advance; not this time. Were they making immediate changes?
And when it came, this speech certainly seemed like one that went further than usual, with the King using the most direct language to encourage Trump to do more on the trade deal. In return, Trump was nothing short of charm personified, albeit with an informality we don’t usually see in that formal setting; there aren’t many heads of state who would publicly comment on the beauty of the Princess of Wales.
As Marine One left Windsor Castle to head to the prime minister's country residence, everyone hoped that was enough. With the difficult backdrop of this visit—Epstein, Ukraine, free speech, the list goes on—would the rosy glow of royal soft power fade under the pressure of questions from reporters?
The visit felt like a repeat of 2019. The warmth of Queen Elizabeth's reception for that first state visit meant that Donald Trump, when it came to a press conference with Theresa May, behaved in the best possible way.
He wasn’t going to throw a grenade and ruin his big moment. Six years later, the King did it again, avoiding any embarrassment for Keir Starmer. Trump had a photo book from the first visit. Again, we have given him another photo book, as the Royal Family, as our top diplomats, have done their job.
The photos of Melania Trump and Kate, which add to the glamour of the state visit, will also appeal to American audiences at home. The couple and their family members have been enjoying plenty of wine and dinner, he has been praised and will want the world to see it too. Here we had a new monarch reinforcing the foundations of friendship, established over many decades between his mother and many other presidents.
As a senior palace aide once told me, it's these foundations that are so important for overcoming disagreements and the most difficult periods in any relationship. And with a president like this, it could be said that they are even more essential, when we never know what lies ahead./ SkyNews
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