The body language experts and lip readers are braced, with Donald Trump’s big moment with the Royal Family, or “fest” as he excitedly described it, finally here.
The royals know it’s their duty to play host and put on a show, but any cynical suggestions they may be dreading it might not be quite right.
We know Trump can’t get enough of the Royal Family and that means we can probably expect him to be on his best behaviour.
We saw it during his first state visit in 2019. His Scottish roots, the fact his mother loved the royals, meant he absolutely revered Queen Elizabeth II; those who saw them up close told me it meant he was charm personified.
Now, of course, we have a new monarch in King Charles – and it appears the two men have already developed their own special relationship, which has included writing letters to each other.
You might assume they’d be two men who are poles apart on political matters, and I’d bet they are on topics such as Ukraine, Canada, and the climate crisis.
But I’m told during the 2019 state visit, they had a very amicable hour-long chat, or exchange of views, on climate change, which came as a bit of a surprise to many insiders considering Trump’s track record on the environment.
But as one diplomatic source put it to me, often the King is asked to have many meetings on behalf of the Foreign Office, some that you could consider quite tedious. At least Trump is interesting and entertaining.
We can probably also expect to see more of Prince William during this state visit. Yes, partly because the government will know how popular he is in America so will want the heir to the throne involved in this significant charm offensive, but also because he has built his own relationship of sorts with the president.
You might remember they met in Paris last November, as William was deployed to represent the UK at the reopening of Notre Dame. In front of the cameras, Trump declared him “a great guy”, but what happened next seemed to surprise some in William’s travelling entourage.
What was meant to be a short meeting went on for 40 minutes and meant they were both late for a dinner with Emmanuel Macron.
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A notable absentee
As well as William’s involvement, the appearance of the Princess of Wales at the official arrival – and then spending time with First Lady Melania Trump – will go down a treat with the White House, adding considerable state visit sparkle for the American audience.
But one member of the family who will be absent, who actually lives on the Windsor estate, is Prince Andrew. He was heavily involved in the last state visit because of his work as a business and trade envoy.
He is no longer a working royal after being embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, something Trump would rather not be reminded of when it’s been such a distraction in the press ahead of his state visit.
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But despite all the controversy in the run-up, the rest of the royals will be out in force this week to welcome Trump and his family.
This is about family to family relations, not just state to state, which is a powerful thing, as again the Windsors will put on the ultimate display of hospitality to make sure the president goes home happy – and that’s one thing we won’t need the body language experts to tell us.
