Four arrested after Trump, Epstein images projected onto Britain's Windsor Castle

Four people were arrested on Tuesday following a projection of images of Donald Trump alongside sex offender Jeffrey Epstein onto the royal Windsor Castle, where the U.S. President is set to be hosted by King Charles during his state visit to Britain.

Trump arrived in Britain late on Tuesday for an unprecedented second state visit, and will be greeted by Charles on Wednesday for a day of pomp at Windsor Castle, about 25 miles west of London.

Earlier on Tuesday, protesters unfurled a massive banner featuring a photograph of Trump and Epstein near Windsor Castle, and later projected several images of the two onto one of the castle's towers.

The police said in a statement four adults were arrested on suspicion of malicious communications following an "unauthorised projection" at Windsor Castle, which they described as a "public stunt". The four remain in custody.

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives on September 8 made public a birthday letter Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein more than 20 years ago, though the White House has denied its authenticity.

The letter was also projected onto the castle, along with pictures of Epstein's victims, news clips about the case and police reports.

The release of the letter has brought renewed attention to an issue that has become a political thorn in the president's side.

Though he has urged his supporters to move on from the topic, appetite for details about Epstein's crimes and who else may have known about them or been involved with him has remained high.

Trump was friends with Epstein before becoming president but had a falling out with the former financier years before his 2019 death in prison.

The birthday letter contained text of a purported dialogue between Trump and Epstein in which Trump calls him a "pal" and says, "May every day be another wonderful secret." The text sits within a crude sketch of the silhouette of a naked woman. 

Trump gets royal treatment on UK state visit

Britain treated Trump to an elaborate ceremonial welcome featuring a gun salute and mounted horses as the US president's unprecedented second state visit began under tight security on Wednesday.

Heir-to-the-throne Prince William and his wife Catherine warmly greeted Trump and First Lady Melania Trump after the Marine One helicopter touched down at Windsor Castle shortly at 12:15 pm (1115 GMT).

Inside a ring of steel and out of sight from noisy protesters, William and Catherine walked Trump and his wife a short distance to meet King Charles III and Queen Camilla as the UK's major charm offensive got underway.

As the president shook hands with the king, a 41-gun salute was fired simultaneously from six World War One-era guns on the castle's east lawn, as a similar display occurred at the Tower of London, in the centre of the capital.

Some 120 horses, and 1,300 members of the British military took part in the ceremony, which UK officials say marked the largest military ceremonial welcome for a state visit to Britain in living memory.

The Trumps and the royals then embarked on a carriage procession through the Windsor estate towards the nearly 1,000-year-old castle.

Britain is going the extra mile to dazzle and flatter the unpredictable Trump with an extraordinary show of pomp and pageantry as it tries to keep him onside during a host of international crises.

The 79-year-old Republican is, however, being kept far away from Britons among whom polls indicate Trump remains unpopular, with the entire visit happening behind closed doors.

Knowing that Trump is obsessed with Britain's royals and loves showy displays of pomp, the military welcome was even bigger than when Queen Elizabeth II hosted Trump on his previous state visit in 2019.

He is the first US president to receive two state visits. He will also get the first joint flypast by US and UK fighter jets at an event of its kind. It will feature US and British F-35 military jets and the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows display team.

The Trumps will lay a wreath on the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in 2022, and the president and Charles will wrap up Wednesday with a white-tie state banquet, where they are due to make speeches.

It's all designed to appeal to a US leader who this year crowed "LONG LIVE THE KING!" about himself on social media before the White House posted a fake magazine cover of him wearing a crown.

The question for Britain is whether the red carpet welcome will win over Trump, whose unpredictability on everything from tariffs to Ukraine and Gaza has caused global turmoil.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be hoping Trump leaves on Thursday feeling the warm glow of royal soft power -- but there are no guarantees.

Trump appeared to be feeling the love as he arrived by helicopter at the US ambassador's official residence in London on Tuesday with First Lady Melania Trump.