King Charles III hailed US President Donald Trump’s “commitment” to finding solutions to world conflicts at the banquet dinner on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Trump hailed the visit as “one of the highest honours” of his life.

Trump is the first American president to be on a state visit to Britain twice, which the Republican leader said has been a “singular privilege”.

The US President’s visit, filled with royal pageantry, also witnessed festivities involving 120 horses and 1,300 troops, including the largest guard of honour in living memory.

What King Charles said

King Charles called Trump and first lady Melania’s state visit to Britain a “unique” and “important occasion for the bond between the UK and the US.

He highlighted the shared history between the US and the UK, talking about the special relationship they share, common culture, common language, and shared business and defence interests.

King Charles also mentioned America’s struggle for independence from his “five times great-grandfather, King George III”.

The King also made a surprise reference to an old news story about his visit to the US and the alleged rumours about him being in a relationship with someone from the Richard Nixon family.

King Charles went on to hail the US-UK ties and said they have the “closest” defence, security and intelligence relationship ever known.

“Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace,” he said in his banquet speech. He linked the modern threat to democracy with the wartime alliance of the US and UK.

King Charles heaped praise on Donald Trump and appreciated his ‘commitment’ to resolving world conflicts.

“Our people have fought and died together for the values we hold dear,” he said. Without naming any specific wars, the King hailed Trump’s “personal commitment to finding solutions to some of the world’s most intractable conflicts”.

He said that renewing the UK-US ties, “we do so with unshakeable trust in our friendship and in our commitment to independence and liberty”.

Lastly, he raised a toast to Trump and Melania, and “to the health, prosperity and happiness of the people of the US”.

Trump on UK-US ties

US President Donald Trump expressed gratitude for his visit to the UK, adding that he and Melania are both “deeply grateful” to the King and Queen for hosting dinner at Windsor Castle.

He said that it has been a “singular privilege” to be the first American President to be welcomed into the nation during a state visit. Trump said that this dinner is one of the “highest honours” of his life.

Trump cited the “special relationship” phrase for the US-UK ties and said the word ‘special “does not begin to do it justice”.