The state banquet held for the visit of US President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump, has made headlines for various reasons, most notably the gorgeous golden gown worn by the Princess of Wales and the question of whether Melania and Tiffany broke royal protocol with their ensembles. However, the US President has given royal watchers a bit of an insight into what the food served at the Windsor Castle event was like – and it's a short, but blunt one.
© Getty ImagesWhen asked what he ate at the banquet that had been held in his honour, he told reporters: "Whatever the hell they served us." The feast began with a Hampshire watercress panna cotta with parmesan shortbread and quail egg salad, with the main being an organic Norfolk chicken ballotine wrapped in courgettes, with a thyme and savoury infused jus. Given the King's passion for environmental activism, serving organic chicken at a State Banquet both comes as no surprise and makes quite a statement.
For dessert, the attendees were served a bombe glacée cardinal, which is a bombe made with vanilla ice cream, that had a Kentish raspberry sorbet interior and was served with lightly poached Victoria plums. The 79-year-old is known to have quite the sweet tooth, so we expected that he thoroughly enjoyed the bombe.
Donald Trump's insight into the state banquet
On Thursday evening, the father-of-five was asked about his visit to the UK by reporters; when questioned on what he thought the best part had been, he responded: "I don't think, I think just being with King Charles. He's a wonderful guy. I got to know him very well. I knew him before, but now I know him a little better."
He also commented on the interiors at Windsor Castle, adding: "The artwork. I saw more paintings than any human being has ever saw [sic] and statues. But they treated us great. They treated our country great. I view that as being really respect [sic] for our country the way they did it because last night was beautiful. And we had the biggest people in the world there. That was respect for our country."
It’s been a week of high stakes diplomacy, showstopping glamour and spectacular pageantry, and HELLO! royal editor Emily Nash was lucky enough to watch some of it up close (in case you missed it, here’s her video report from Windsor on day 1).
Over on The HELLO! Royal Club, Emily has just posted her top three takeaways from a week when the worlds of royalty and politics collided in unforgettable fashion. Click the button below to read the post.
