Trump’s Visit to Windsor Castle: a Declaration of Global Civil Unrest

Photo via NBC News 

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United States President Donald Trump visited the United Kingdom from September 16th to the 18th 2025, resulting in one of the most controversial state visits in U.S. history. President Trump was hosted by King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla at Windsor Castle for a formal state visit. There was suspicion that the visit was centered around the worsening geopolitical tensions in the Russian-Ukrainian war. This issue is particularly relevant after a Russian drone entered Polish airspace and was quickly shot down. 

Although the intentions behind the visit were nothing out of the ordinary, President Trump’s arrival sparked controversy as he brought the largest military contingent for a visiting foreign leader, consisting of 1,300 military personnel and 120 horses. What started as a diplomatic visit quickly turned into a stunt demonstrating the Trump Administration’s political power and reactionary international discontent. 

There had been feelings of civil unrest even before the arrival of President Trump in the UK. A group called the Stop Trump Coalition organized protests around Britain in preparation for his visit, articulating the mass disapproval felt by many people in Britain. These protests set the stage for actions that would overshadow the goals of the Trump administration. 

During President Trump’s stay, protesters projected images and videos of the President and the notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein onto the walls of Windsor Castle. Jeffrey Epstein was a rich socialite during the 80s and 90s who became infamous for his large involvement in sex trafficking and the exploitation of underaged women. The relationship between these two men has been an extreme controversy since the early 2000s, and has resurfaced given a lack of transparency from the Trump administration about the Epstein files. 

Photos of President Trump, Prince Andrew, and Jeffrey Epstein projected on Windsor Castle; Photo Credit via Mark Kerrison, Getty Images

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One of these projections was a birthday letter allegedly written to Epstein by President Trump. The letter itself depicts the drawn outline of a naked woman and includes the phrase, “Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret.” The letter’s existence was first brought to the attention of the public in July of 2025 by the Wall Street Journal. However, President Trump himself denied the legitimacy of the letter and filed a lawsuit against the Journal’s reporters, publishers, and executives for 10 billion dollars. 

Fast forwarding to September of 2025, the very same letter was declassified and released by the U.S. House committee. After the document was released, the White House quickly issued a statement denying the authenticity of the letter, stating the signature at the bottom did not match the president’s. 

Trump’s public relationship with Epstein started in the late 1980s and for over a decade after they were viewed as very close friends. Released flight records revealed that Trump traveled on Epstein’s private jet at least eight times. However, their relationship allegedly ended after a falling out in 2004, conveniently taking place right before law enforcement began investigations into Jeffrey Epstein in 2005. The association between US President Donald Trump and a known pedophile and sex trafficker is understandably very concerning, and the lack of transparency and accountability from his administration and the Department of Justice is adding to global civil unrest. 

The protest at Windsor Castle during President Trump’s visit was organized by a political activist group called Led by Donkeys, who are well known in the U.K. for their previous stunts. They have a history of plastering tweets of newspaper headlines in public spaces to bring attention to and make fun of popular conservative figures. This September marks the first time the group has faced legal consequences for their demonstrations, as four of their members were arrested under suspicion of malicious communications. 

Many believe that this reaction to the protesters was unjustified, given the peaceful nature and intent of the protest. A spokesperson for Led by Donkeys told The Guardian that the action of law enforcement “says a lot more about the policing of Trump’s visit than it does about what we did.” While the demonstration was shocking and disruptive, it was also peaceful, and sought only to bring attention to a very real problem that the world needs to address. 

The controversy surrounding the protest at Windsor Castle and President Trump’s visit to the U.K is a prime example of the growing unease regarding the protection of free speech under the Trump Administration. These demonstrations were carried out in a peaceful, nonviolent manner and reflected widespread discontent with the Trump administration. Protests are an essential part of democracy because they ensure that the public can express dissatisfaction without fear of punishment. However, the measures taken by law enforcement in this situation seem to show that civil liberties are now being undermined in the name of maintaining order. If such peaceful expressions are met with suppression, it calls into question whether the fundamental democratic right to free speech is truly being protected under this administration. 

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This article was edited by Sofia Roshan Hope Gellada and Samuel Benton.