Trump meets with Starmer on U.K. state visit after royal welcome at Windsor

President Donald Trump traded pageantry for politics Thursday as he ended a lavish stay hosted by Britain's King Charles III at Windsor Castle and prepared to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence, Chequers.

LONDON — President Donald Trump traded pageantry for politics Thursday as he ended a lavish stay hosted by Britain's King Charles III at Windsor Castle and met with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his country residence, Chequers.

Hailing the “unbreakable bond” between the two nations, Trump said ties between America and the U.K. were “priceless” and the two governments were “making those ties closer than ever before.”

Starmer has lavished Trump with praise and royal pomp in a bid to curry favor with Washington as Britain looks to deepen its economic ties with the U.S., ease tariffs and hold difficult conversations on a range of thorny issues — including Israel’s offensive in Gaza and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The pair will hold a joint news conference before Trump heads home.

President Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, outside London on Thursday.Leon Neal / Getty ImagesBut Starmer was all smiles as he and his wife Victoria greeted Trump at Chequers, the prime minister's official country residence some 40 miles north of London.