The King has bid a ”formal farewell” to Donald Trump as the US State Visit drew to a close.
After a day of pomp and pageantry and hosting the US President and First Lady overnight at Windsor Castle, The King took part in an official goodbye as the ceremonial part of this extraordinary State Visit came to an end.
King Charles and Queen Camilla posed for an official photo with Donald and Melania Trump in a corridor at Windsor Castle before The Queen and the First Lady headed to the Royal Library.
The US President and The King continued to the steps of Windsor Castle where His Majesty said goodbye to his guest as Donald Trump was whisked by car to Chequers, the country home of the Prime Minister.
Melania Trump, meanwhile, enjoyed a tour of the library with The Queen whose passion for literacy and books is well known.
During their visit, they were accompanied by the Royal Librarian, Dr. Stella Panayatova, who showed them some of the treasures of the library.
These included miniature books from Queen Mary’s Doll’s House, one of the treasures of Windsor Castle. The tiny books on show included one by The Queen, created in 2023, as well as a version of How Watson Learned the Trick, a new Sherlock Holmes
story written for the Dolls’ House Library by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1922.
The royal library also showed off some of its American treasures including The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon by Washington Irving from 1823 which was billed as the first American short stories and which was loved by Queen Victoria.
Another favourite book of a queen was shown to the First Lady. The edition of the classic Alice in Wonderland, owned by Queen Elizabeth II, was on display as was a childhood book of King Charles. His set of The Tales of Beatrix Potter was shown to Melania Trump.
Other treasures on show for the First Lady took her back even earlier. A poignant display included Charles I’s copy of Shakespeare’s Second Folio (1632), read and annotated by the King before his execution in 1649.
The Queen and the First Lady also got the chance to meet some schoolchildren who are writing and illustrating their own miniature books.
There was another chance for Melania Trump to see projects involving youngsters later when she joined the Princess of Wales in the gardens near Frogmore to meet some of the youngest members of the Scout Association, the Squirrels, as they tried to get their ‘Go Wild’ badge.
The Princess and the First Lady obviously brought them luck as there was success all round and Melania Trump left to join her husband at Chequers with her own Squirrels badge.
