Donald Trump’s carriage procession at Windsor has been described as being like something out of Monty Python.
On Wednesday, Trump arrived at Windsor Castle for the first full day of his state visit. At Windsor, he was greeted by the Prince and Princess of Wales before meeting the King and Queen.
From there, the group were given a carriage ride through the Windsor estate before a guard of honour.
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But it wasn’t the same treatment that heads of state would usually get on a state visit. The whole thing was confined to the grounds of Windsor, meaning there were no crowds for Trump to wave to.
Combined with the drizzly weather in Windsor, the scene of the procession being taken through the empty roads gave the whole thing a bizarre vibe.
This was highlighted by French journalist Alex Taylor, who wrote on X that he found the scenes “plain weird.”
He said: “All totally cut off from reality, no flag-waving actual people – and what with the rain (Macron had Windsor High St AND sun !) – it’s all a bit Monty-Pythonesque.”
On Tuesday, political activist Zoe Gardner had said the carriage ride was the “saddest thing” about Trump’s visit.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: “I think the saddest thing that I’ve actually heard about Trump’s visit is that he is going to get his golden carriage ride, but in private, because the Great British public probably would have given him the ‘rotten tomato’ treatment if he dared to show his face in public.
“We don’t like Donald Trump, but I think that this hiding him away, it reflects the sort of crouch position that the Government is in overall about this meeting.”
Gardner added that the state visit was “shameful and humiliating for the UK.”
She said: “There’s an enormous gulf between a relationship and diplomacy with the United States, and letting this toddler come here and use our country as a theme park, and honouring him with a red carpet and a banquet with the King.
Later on Wednesday, Trump will be treated to a scaled-down Red Arrows flypast, before a state banquet during which both King Charles and president will deliver speeches.