WINDSOR: US President Donald Trump kicked of f his historic second state visit to Britain on Wednesday amid unprecedented pomp, intense security, technology investments and protests as King Charles and other royals welcomed their nation`s closest ally.

Trump and his wife Melania are being hosted by the king at Windsor Castle, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world and family home to British monarchs for almost 1,000 years, where he is being treated to the full array of British pageantry from a carriage procession to a lavish banquet.

Britain laid on what it said was the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit in living memory, and Trump, an overt royal fan, has made little secret of his delight at being not just the first US leader, but the first elected politician to be invited for two state visits.

`It`s a very special place,` Trump said, adding that he loved Britain.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hoping to use that sentiment toBritain`s advantage as his government seeks to use the trip to cement the two nations` `special relationship`, deepen economic ties, secure billions of dollars of investment, discuss tariffs and press Trump on Ukraine and Israel.

Companies including Microsoft, Nvidia, Google and OpenAI have already pledged 31 billion pounds ($42bn) in British investments over the next few years, in AI, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy.

Starmer also wants further progressontrade,afterBritainsecured the first deal with Trump to lower some tariffs. Talks may touch on remaining levies on steel, whisky and salmon.

`They want to see if they can refine the trade deal a little bit, Trump said on Tuesday.

But while Starmer is banking on the royals to help cajole the anglophile president, whose mother came from Scotland, many pitfalls for Britain`s prime minister remain.

Polls show Trump is widely unpopular in Britain and Starmer,faced with plummeting poll ratings of his own and economic woes, will need to show that his royal trump card can reap benefits.

A YouGov poll showed 45 per cent thought it was wrong to invite Trump, while 30pc said it was theright move.

Protest march Thousands of people marched through London on Wednesday to protest against Trump`s state visit to Britain while a much smaller crowdgathered outside the royal Windsor Castle to give him a warm welcome.

A `Trump Not Welcome` protest took place 25 miles (40km) away in central London organised by the Stop Trump Coalition and supported by other organisations, including Amnesty International, women`s associations such as Abortion Rights, and pro-Palestinian activists.

`I quite simply dislike everything that Trump and his administration represent around the globe. (They are) absolutely awful,` said Bryan Murray, a retiree, who attended with his wife and held a placard reading `Dump Trump`.

Four people were arrested on Tuesday after images were projected onto Windsdor Castle of Trump alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein an issue that could surface during the visit after Starmer sacked his US ambassador over Epstein ties last week.

More than 1,600 police officers were deployed to deal with the protest, which moved peacefully toward parliament and featuredbanners reading: `Not Wanted Here, Not Wanted Anywhere` and `Trump, a big step back on the evolution of man`. Police said around 5,000 people took part.

The turnout on Wednesday was similar to that seen for Trump`s previous state visit in 2019 but much lower than for his first official visit to Britain as president in July 2018, when estimates varied between tens of thousands and 250,000.

Earlier in Windsor, a few dozen Trump supporters turned out to see the president arrive at the castle, including one man wearing a cap that read: ``Trump was right about everything While the focus on Thursday will be on geopolitics and trade when Starmer hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence, Wednesday was all about ceremony.

Trump and Melania joined Charles, his wife Queen Camilla and other royals and dignitaries for a carriage procession, with the route lined by 1,300 British service personnel.-Reuters