The UK has begun to prepare for Donald Trump‘s state visit to Windsor by building a ‘ring of steel’ to protect the US president.
Pictures have emerged of metal fences being constructed at strategic locations in the historic royal town as the King prepares to host both Trump and his wife Melania.
The multi-million pound police operation is on high alert as it comes just days after the assassination of the US president’s close ally Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah.
Thousands of British police officers will be on duty throughout the two-day visit from September 17 to 19, where the guests will be feted with a ceremonial welcome and state banquet.
More than 100 US Secret Service agents are expected to accompany the president, alongside MI5 agents who are monitoring potential lone-wolf attackers and underground political opponents.
The SAS troops will also be poised to counter any attack, with back-up from a US special forces unit, according to The Mirror.
A source told the paper: ‘What happened last night in Utah adds a level of complexity and uncertainty to the planning but hopefully by next week things will be clearer in terms of whether it was a lone wolf attack or part of a wider conspiracy.’
Anti-Trump protestors have long been planning to oppose the president’s arrival, with plans involving a ‘Trump Not Welcome’ demonstration in London when he arrives on Wednesday.
Pictures have emerged of metal fences being constructed at strategic locations in the historic royal town as the King prepares to host both Donald Trump and his wife Melania
More than 100 US Secret Service agents are expected to accompany the president and his wife
King Charles will be greeting the US president for a special state visit to his home
Extra police and security measures were seen being put in place on the long walk in Windsor Castle on Sunday
Pictured: Anti-Trump demonstrators from the campaign group Stop Trump Coalition gather during the president’s most recent visit to the UK in July
The first day of the visit will have no public-facing element, and Trump will remain within the private Windsor estate, making the security arrangements easier.
Trump will be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows as well as UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn at Windsor Castle, as well as a special military ceremony.
The special additions have never been deployed before for a state visit.
On the second day, Trump and Melania will depart Windsor Castle for Chequers, the prime minister’s official country residence in Buckinghamshire.
In preparation for the trip, Trump’s motorcade, which includes two identical limousines, will be transported ahead by United States Air Force transport aircraft.
All US presidents travel in Cadillac One – a bomb-proof enhanced limousine dubbed ‘the Beast’ for its heavy armour.
The machine has been famous for decades and is believed to bulletproof and heavily armoured, featuring Bond-style gadgets, including smoke screens and electrified door handles.
During the high-profile event, the security operation will be led by drones, with a temporary order restricting the airspace while the state visit takes place.
In preparation for the trip, workers have begun to build defence fortifications around the castle
During the high-profile event, the security operation will be led by drones
The multi-million pound police operation is on high alert as it comes just days after the assassination of the US president’s close ally Charlie Kirk at a university in Utah
The president’s Cadillac, known as ‘The Beast’, was last in the UK during his visit to Scotland in July
Thames Valley Police officers from the Police force’s Specialist Search Unit, carry out security searches outside of Windsor Castle
A Thames Valley Police officer from the Police force’s Specialist Search Unit, accompanied by police dog Jack
The Royal town of Windsor in Berkshire is getting ready for the State Visit of the President of the United States
A UK banner is installed by Vince Reed of The Flag Consultancy in the street outside Windsor Castle on September 12, 2025 in Windsor
US Marine Corps helicopters, which are typically used to carry the president, are seen as they fly over Windsor Castle on September 12
This means non-police drones and smaller aircraft cannot fly through the protected area.
Thames Valley Police officers said on Monday during a drone-flying demonstration at the force’s training centre in Sulhamstead, Berkshire.
‘It’s a significant policing operation for us,’ Inspector Matthew Wilkinson, airspace bronze commander for Thames Valley Police, said.
‘However Thames Valley Police is proud to host these events and we have a good history of putting on these events for both the Royal Family and the country.’
Asked about the scale of the drone operation for the US president’s state visit compared to other high profile events, Insp Wilkinson replied: ‘It’s one of the larger ones.
‘It’s in line with other large-scale events we’ve put on as a force.
‘Obviously every event carries on its own challenges and threats, and we’ll assess that and resource it accordingly.’
Speaking on the restricted airspace order, Insp Wilkinson said the public in Windsor will be kept informed.
‘We are engaging with the local businesses, local communities, hobbyist drone enthusiasts, gliding schools and things like that, to try and share that message, so it’s not a surprise for anybody,’ he said.
‘Obviously it’s an offence to fly a drone in a restricted airspace and we will have resources to deal with any of those incursions.
Donald Trump’s unprecedented second UK state visit next week will involve a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and a bilateral with Prime Minister Keir Starmer
A police officer erects a ‘No fly Zone’ sign near the Trump Turnberry club house during his visit to Scotland in July
‘We will have plenty of capability in the sky when the time is appropriate,’ he said, adding the drones will act as an ‘eye in the sky’ during the event.
The DJIM 30T model introduced during the demonstration on Monday is already used by police on a day-to-day basis, usually as part of missing persons inquiries and drug warrants, officers said.
Each drone can fly up to 120 metres (400ft) and is expected to stay up for 30 minutes at a time during the operation, with the replacement drone taking off shortly before the end of that period so as not to lose coverage.
The event will be Mr Trump’s second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented gesture towards a US president, having previously been feted by a state visit in 2019.
His first trip to the UK saw thousands of people turn out on the streets in London in opposition, and protests are also expected to take place next week.
The Stop Trump Coalition are to stage a mass demonstration in central London on the first day of the trip, with a further protest planned near Windsor Castle.
In preparation for the trip, Specialist Search Unit officers were photographed scouring bollards, bins and drains outside Windsor Castle on Friday, with a sniffer dog on patrol.
Sergeant Amber Timmis, from Thames Valley Police, said on Friday that Windsor residents will see searches by officers.
She told the PA news agency: ‘Being in Thames Valley Police, we’ve got lots of people that live here of a royal variety, so just making sure that everyone is safe is something we do quite often, so we’re very used to it, very adept in that, and very experienced.’
On July 13 2024, Trump had survived an assassination attempt when shots were fired from an AR-15-style rifle as he spoke at an open-air campaign rally near Butler in Pensylvania in July
The security failures around the July assassination attempt caused the Secret Service to be widely criticised
Asked how recent security breaches in the US influenced their work, Sgt Timmis, who is managing a team as a police search adviser, said: ‘We do what we do, we already have a clear strategy and a clear message from our side of things.’
The searches will run daily until the president’s visit finishes and Sgt Timmis said she could not comment on other departments’ protocols.
In contrast to French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit, Mr and Mrs Trump will not take a carriage ride through the town or a trip into London to see the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.
Trump’s visit comes after a similarly large security operation was launched for his private visit to Scotland in July.
It follows a little more than a year after he survived the world-famous assassination attempt while at a rally in Pennsylvania.
In scenes which went around the world in moments, one of the bullets clipped his ear and 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, the gunman, was shot and killed by the US Secret Service.
The security failures around the incident caused the Secret Service to be widely criticised.