LONDON — King Charles III urged the defense of Ukraine and the environment as he welcomed U.S. President Donald Trump and top tech and finance executives for a lavish state dinner at Windsor Castle on Wednesday.

“Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine to deter aggression,” the king said while offering a toast at the event, capping a day of pageantry designed to strengthen a U.S.-United Kingdom alliance enduring economic and security headwinds.

“In striving for a better world, we also have a precious opportunity to safeguard and restore the wonders and beauty of nature for the generations who follow us,” Charles continued.

Trump nodded along as Charles spoke, but the comments — hitting on two areas where he has broken with other allies — were particularly notable given how the state dinner was designed to curry favor with the U.S. president and the king’s traditional restraint from engaging in political issues.

The king emphasized the longstanding bonds between the nations and became the latest leader to flatter Trump’s love of golf. “I understand that British soil makes a rather splendid golf course,” he said, referencing Trump’s properties in the U.K.

The trappings of the event — from a string orchestra that played Trump playlist favorites from Elton John and the Rolling Stones to a 1945 vintage port intended to honor the 45th American president — underscored the efforts at flattery.

But the guest list of the event nodded to the work that Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who are set to meet Thursday, face as they attempt to bring the special relationship back onto stronger footing. Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang, Blackstone Inc. CEO Steve Schwarzman, Arm Ltd CEO Rene Haas, and media tycoon Rupert Murdoch were among 160 guests listed to attend the banquet, and the nations are set to solidify joint tech, energy and digital asset agreements.

U.S. and U.K. officials have said they expect to roll out economic deals worth billions of dollars to coincide with the visit, with artificial intelligence data centers and nuclear plants to help power them high on the agenda. The U.K. government is touting a 150 billion pound ($205 billion) investment package led by the promise of 90 billion pounds from Blackstone Inc. Microsoft Corp., OpenAI and other American companies also announced plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on technology infrastructure in the U.K.

Trump is expected to announce more than $10 billion in new economic deals, as well as other efforts to align the nations’ financial sectors. British drugmaker GSK Plc pledged to invest $30 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.

But the ultimate success of Wednesday’s dinner — which also included top Trump administration officials, MI6 chief Richard Moore and the president’s daughter Tiffany — may be judged on whether progress is made on other areas of friction.

The U.K. hopes to press Trump on trade terms and the war in Ukraine, though major breakthroughs aren’t expected.

London has shelved talks aimed at eliminating tariffs on British steel, scaling back its goals of bringing the levies to zero, according to a person familiar with the matter. Trump officials have previously raised their concerns over the UK’s Online Safety Act and efforts by Starmer’s government to obtain backdoor access to Apple’s cloud services.

Trump, for his part, used his toast to argue the nations needed to “defend the exceptional heritage that makes us who we are.”

“We must continue to stand for the values and the people of the English-speaking world,” Trump said.

Ahead of the negotiations, Trump was offered a royal spectacle.

At the dinner, guests dined on watercress panna cotta, chicken ballotine and ice cream bombe and will wash it down with a new cocktail — a “Transatlantic Whisky Sour” — created for the occasion. Designed to evoke a U.S. s’more, the cocktail is crowned with a pecan foam and garnished with a toasted marshmallow on top of a star-shaped biscuit.

The feast capped what U.K. officials have described as the first-ever second state visit for a foreign leader. Trump was ushered to the castle alongside the king in the gilded Irish State Coach, a horse-drawn carriage customarily rolled out for the State Opening of Parliament that was also used for the late Queen Elizabeth II’s wedding.

Later, the party — which included first lady Melania Trump in a wide-brimmed hat, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Catherine — toured an exhibit that included a first edition text of Captain John Smith’s account of his time in the Virginia colony, as well as 18th-century watercolors made by English naturalist Mark Catesby during trips to the east coast of North America.

Also included in the display were letters to King George III detailing the status of American revolutionary efforts, a condolence message from President Abraham Lincoln sent to Queen Victoria upon the death of Prince Albert and a note from Queen Elizabeth describing her attendance at a picnic — featuring hot dogs — during a 1939 visit to New York.

In total, 120 horses and 1,300 members of the British military were involved in the ceremonial welcome at Windsor Castle. Members of the elite Red Arrows performed a flyover, dispensing red, white and blue trails behind their jets.

The trip comes as Starmer is engulfed in domestic political turmoil, most notably with his dismissal of Peter Mandelson as the U.K.’s ambassador in Washington after the emergence of damaging emails detailing Mandelson’s links to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The Epstein issue is one Starmer and Trump will likely both be eager to avoid. Trump has also faced questions over his past interactions with the sexual offender. He said he has nothing to hide in connection with Epstein, saying the two fell out decades ago.

Police arrested four men on suspicion of “malicious communications” after an image of Trump and Epstein was projected onto Windsor Castle late on Tuesday. A separate protest took place in central London on Wednesday.

Mike Blakemore, 60, said that he protested against Trump during his first state visit in 2019 and couldn’t have imagined “that Trump would be back again.” He brought his 19-year-old son Daniel along, both holding red “Stop Trump” placards.

“We’re diminished by having to suck up to this man,” said Blakemore. “We keep talking about the special relationship. It seems to be a very one-way relationship that involves us doing everything we can to please and appease.”

A mix of Trump opponents and supporters lined the streets outside Windsor earlier in the day as the president arrived, with a large police presence and vendors hawking Make America Great Again merchandise.

Hazel Pearson, a 66-year-old from Londonderry in Northern Ireland who was wearing a red Trump baseball cap, said she was there during Trump’s last visit and wanted to bring her daughter to experience the excitement.

“Why miss an opportunity to see Trump and to feel the buzz?” she said.

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(With assistance from Alex Morales, William Standring and Romy Varghese.)

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