Two major royals miss out on Donald Trump state banquet as absence explained

Two major members of the royal family have missed the state banquet at Windsor Castle tonight as part of Donald Trump's US state visit.

Despite the King, Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales all be there to welcome Trump and First Lady Melania, Prince Edward and his wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, were nowhere to be seen.

And their absence has been explained as they are due to start a four-day visit to Japan tomorrow. The royal couple will be attending engagements in the country in both Tokyo and Osaka before returning to the UK on next week on Monday, September 22.

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Together they will celebrate the strong bilateral relationship between the UK and Japan, as they travel to Tokyo and Osaka to undertake engagements on themes which resonate in both countries, including youth opportunity, sustainability and innovation, educating the next generation, and women in leadership.

During the visit, the Duke and Duchess will visit the UK and Japanese Pavilions at EXPO 2025, Osaka, Kansai. As Japan’s largest international event this decade, the aim is to bring together people and innovations from around the world to address global issues.

The visits come during a year in which the Duchess of Edinburgh has taken on a more prominent international role for the monarchy. In July, she travelled to Bosnia and Herzegovina to mark the 30th anniversary of the Srebrenica genocide, where she read a personal message from the King and met survivors and bereaved families. Prince Edward last visited Japan in 2004, while this will be the Duchess’s first official trip to the country.

It comes as the King and Queen have been hosting the star-studded event tonight, which is showcasing a guest list of many members of the Firm. Despite their no-show for the US state banquet, both Edward and Sophie were present for the banquet during the French state visit in July.

The state banquet is concluding the second day of President Trump’s visit to the UK, as he was officially welcomed to the Windsor estate this morning by Prince William and Princess Kate. Trump and the First Lady Melania were then more formally greeted by the King and Queen as a royal salute was fired from the east lawn of Windsor Castle and at the Tower of London.

The Trumps were then treated to a carriage procession through the Windsor estate with Charles, Camilla, William and Kate along a route towards the castle that is lined by members of the Armed Forces, with three military bands from the Royal Marines, the Army and the RAF.

In a private moment, Mr and Mrs Trump visited the late Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb in St George’s Chapel, Windsor, and laid a wreath. The US president was then treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows and UK and US F-35 military jets on the east lawn at Windsor Castle and a special beating retreat military ceremony.

The traditional grand state banquet is set to take place at Windsor Castle in the evening, with both Mr Trump and Charles set to give speeches as the glittering event gets underway.