Inside the State Banquet: How the Queen treated President Trump - and 170 guests who were split into some VERY intriguing pairs - to dinner of Windsor lamb, strawberry sable and a £1,400 bottle of wine
- Donald Trump's State Banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace was attended by about 170 guests
- First Lady Melania sat beside Prince Charles, who was one of 16 members of the Royal Family to attend
- Dress code for the dinner was white ties for the men, tiaras for women with an option to wear national dress
Nineteen wine butlers, an army of chefs, sixteen royals and one US President: it was the perfect recipe for a State Banquet.
Queen Elizabeth II laid on the grandest of welcomes to Donald Trump and his entourage last night, the highest of honours possible for a visiting head of state.
The President led the 170 guests who were treated to a lavish feast of halibut, lamb and strawberry sable amidst the splendour of the Buckingham Palace ballroom.
As expected – although something of a first by royal standards – as well as wife Melania, the US president brought four of his five children to the banquet: Ivanka, Eric, Donald Junior and Tiffany.
Pictured: Guests stand for beginning of the State Banquet for Donald Trump in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace in central London last night
U.S. President Donald Trump sits with Queen Elizabeth at the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace in London last night as the Republican was granted the highest honour possible for the monarch to give a visiting world leader
Top table: The guest list for the table that hosted the Queen and Donald Trump also included top royals and US officials
Pictured: First Lady Melania Trump walks alongside Prince Charles as they enter the ballroom for the State Banquet to welcome the US President
Be beautiful in a Dior Couture gown like Melania Trump
A state dinner hosted by Her Majesty is one of the most glamorous evenings one can be invited to attend, and naturally, the First Lady of the United States made sure to ensure she opted for full glamour in her sartorial choice for the evening.
Her stylist and friend, Herve Pierre selected this handmade bespoke Dior Couture gown for Melania to wear that he styled with white opera length gloves, very reminiscent of Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis' notable ensemble at Buckingham Palace in 1961.
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Prince William sat alongside Theresa May at last night's State Banquet to welcome US President Donald Trump to Buckingham Palace ahead of D-Day commemorations
The Duchess of Cambridge and United States Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin arrive through the East Gallery during the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace
Guests take their seats for the State Banquet with Donald Trump as Buckingham Palace welcomed the US President to the ballroom last night
The US Ambassador Woody Johnson was accompanied by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall at the State Banquet last night
Finding common ground: Donald Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner were paired with International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and Princess Anne respectively
Fit for a Queen: The menu - personally chosen by Her Majesty - that was served to President Trump and the 170 guests
US National Security Advisor John Bolton (2L) arrive through the East Gallery during a State Banquet in the ballroom at Buckingham Palace
A steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, asparagus spears and chervil sauce served as the banquet's starter, followed by a saddle of new season Windsor lamb with herb stuffing, spring vegetables and port sauce.
Dessert was a strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream - made of crisp biscuits, smooth pastry cream and fresh fruit.
But what the guests found to talk about between mouthfuls can only be the subject of imagination. The seating plan on the 171-place horseshoe-shaped table – at which wine including a £1,400-a-bottle Chateau Lafite Rothschild 1990 was served alongside a £34.99 Windsor Great Park 2014 for the toasts – was fascinating.
On the top table Mr Trump was sandwiched between the Queen and the Duchess of Cornwall, who has been described by US Ambassador Robert 'Woody' Johnson as 'a riot'.
Mrs Trump was placed between the Prince of Wales and the Lord Speaker, Lord Fowler, who attended despite the absence of his counterpart, Commons Speaker John Bercow.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan was also a no-show, but the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Peter Estlin, was there next to the Duchess of Cambridge.
Her husband, the Duke of Cambridge, was sat next to Prime Minister Theresa May, presumably at her last State banquet.
Here Trump is pictured with the ladies of the evening, his daughter Ivanka, right, Tiffany, left, and daughter-in-law Lara Trump, far left, as his children documented their Buckingham Palace visit on Instagram
All four of Donald Trump 's adult children attended the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace on Monday night; L-R: Donald Trump Jr., Lara Trump, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump
Eric Trump shared a snap with his wife Lara ahead of the event (left) and Don Jr. smiled in the back of a van as he showed off his tux on the way there (right)
Snap-happy Ivanka has been documenting her trip on Instagram
Pictured: A member of the Royal staff prepares one of the tables inside the ballroom of Buckingham Palace ahead of the State Banquet for Donald Trump, which took place last night
The lavish setting was inspected by the Queen herself after staff had laid the tables in Buckingham Palace, spacing cutlery evenly apart and topping laying intricate candle holders next to place settings
Each setting was laboriously laid out ahead of Donald Trumps State Banquet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace, where plates had to be precisely 18cm apart
Pictured: Flowers are trimmed to be laid out for the president along with about 170 guests at Buckingham Palace for Donald Trump's State Banquet
A bouquet is placed atop a table in Buckingham Palace's ballroom ahead of the State Banquet for US President Donald Trump last night
Pictured: A Royal staff member fixes a candle into its holder as she lays place settings ahead of the State Banquet for Donald Trump, who was honoured by the Queen last night in Buckingham Palace's ballroom
President Donald Trump makes a speech as Queen Elizabeth II listens during a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace. The President spoke of the sacrifice made by British and American soldiers on D-Day
The Queen is pictured viewing a state banquet table prepared for a summer opening of the palace. She would have inspected place settings ahead of Donald Trump's visit in the same manner
A member of staff inspects a wine glass on the table, where place settings must be precisely the same distant apart from one another as do chairs
Staff members lay the state banquet table as part of a display for the Buckingham Palace revealing how the formal dinners settings appear
Pictured: The view President Trump enjoyed last night from the top table of the ballroom at Buckingham Palace, which was the setting for the President's State Banquet
Also sat on the top table was Baroness Hale, the first female president of the UK's Supreme Court.
Mr Trump's outspoken eldest son Donald Junior, 41, was sandwiched between Lady Bamford and Susan Hammond, wife of Chancellor Philip Hammond.
The so-called 'First Daughter' Ivanka Trump, 37, was placed between International Trade Secretary Liam Fox and the Countess of Wessex.
Tiffany Trump, 25, the president's daughter by model Marla Maples, was paired with Mark Tucker, the chairman of HSBC, and Edward Young, the Queen's private secretary and most senior aide.
Big game hunter Eric Trump, 35, had the pleasure of the company of Dame Vivian Hunt, chairman of British/American Business, and Janet Tucker, wife of the HSBC chairman.
Other guests included Princess Anne, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent, the Earl of Wessex and Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, as well as a slew of senior White House appointees, including National Security Advisor John Bolton and press secretary Sarah Huckerbee Sanders.
US President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall enter the ballroom for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace
Another interesting pairing was made with Princess Anne, who was escorted into dinner by Jared Kushner, the husband of Ivanka and one of the president's senior advisors.
The Duke of Sussex, who was at the private lunch earlier, was noticeably absent, as was the Duchess of Sussex, who is on maternity leave looking after their four-week-old son, Archie.
The state banquet saw 171 guests in the palace ballroom, eating from the Grand Service of silver gilt underneath vast floral displays of pink peonies and roses and the golden State Candelabrum.
Each place setting had six glasses – amounting to 1,026 piece of Royal Brierley Crystal – and E II R embroidered napkins, folded like Dutch bonnets.
The menu was designed to show off the best of British.
Preparations in the kitchens of Buckingham Palace begin as close to the event as possible with every dish handmade from scratch.
Mr Trump is known to have a sweet tooth, so he was likely to have enjoyed the pudding – strawberry sable with lemon verbena cream – made of crisp biscuits, smooth pastry cream and fresh strawberries.
The Queen earlier inspected the ballroom in person to make sure everything was perfect for her visitors.
Napkins were folded in the shape of a Dutch bonnet. The six glasses at each setting were for water, a champagne toast, red and white wines, a dessert wine and port. However, a teetotal Mr Trump was not expected to sample the wines on offer.
A special red velvet cushion was ready on Charles' chair to help ease his back pain.
Every place setting was 18 inches apart, with measuring sticks used to ensure precision.
Preparation began six months before the event and it took palace staff four days to lay the table.
Nineteen stations were set up around the table, each manned by four staff - a page, footman, under butler and a wine butler - who used a traffic light system to co-ordinate the serving of courses.
The event operated with military precision. It took staff one hour and 15 minutes to serve the banquet and about one hour and 30 minutes to clear away afterwards.
The palace staff does amazing work. It looks spect...
by Shadefordays 2204