摘要：温莎城堡内，50米长的桃花心木长桌与200年历史的银器静候特朗普。这场精心筹备的国事访问，既是英国软实力的华丽展演，更是为争取贸易条款与乌克兰援助的关键外交博弈。王室历史学家直言：“我们正用王冠与仪式讨好这位崇尚排场的总统。”
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温莎城堡内，50米长的桃花心木长桌与200年历史的银器静候特朗普。这场精心筹备的国事访问，既是英国软实力的华丽展演，更是为争取贸易条款与乌克兰援助的关键外交博弈。王室历史学家直言：“我们正用王冠与仪式讨好这位崇尚排场的总统。”
查尔斯国王将为特朗普访英举行盛大的欢迎仪式
一、英国王室精心准备接待特朗普的第二次国事访问
温莎城堡的工作人员正在布置一张50米长的桃花心木长桌。马夫们正擦拭着将牵引皇家马车的马匹的马蹄。仪仗卫队则在进行训练，以确保每一步都迈得精准无误。
这座位于伦敦西部、拥有近千年历史的城堡内，数百名工作人员正忙碌着，只为确保本周国王查尔斯三世迎接美国总统唐纳德·特朗普进行历史性第二次国事访问时，能呈现一场尽善尽美的仪式。
此次访问接待将亮点纷呈：闪耀的王冠、铜管乐队，以及用有200年历史的银器盛放的奢华宴会，尽显英国独步全球的盛大仪式风范。但这场盛典并非只为展示：在特朗普的“美国优先”政策扰乱长期贸易与安全关系之际，英国希望借此加强与这位全球最有影响力人物之一的联系。
王室历史学家、网飞剧集《王冠》顾问罗伯特·莱西表示：“我们这是在讨好他。如果没机会入住温莎城堡，没能向他极为敬重的已故女王致敬，也无法与国王会面，他是不会来英国的。”
特朗普2019年首次访问英国时曾受到时任英国女王伊丽莎白热情招待
二、将奢华的王室礼仪转变为带有明确目的的软实力影响
三个世纪以来，英国君主已放弃政治权利，转而承担象征性国家元首的角色，但王室仍是“软实力”的重要载体，英国民选政府希望借助这一工具嘉奖盟友，也从不情愿的伙伴那里争取让步。
国事访问是英国王室最核心的外交手段，各国领导人都争相获得全套王室礼遇。
已故女王伊丽莎白二世在位七十年间，接待过的人物形形色色，从罗马尼亚独裁者尼古拉·齐奥塞斯库到南非前总统纳尔逊·曼德拉。
近年来，英国王室曾接待过美国四任总统，不过并非所有接待都属于最高规格的国事访问。
英国纽卡斯尔大学现代英国史专家马丁·法尔表示，尽管软实力的影响难以量化，但它能增进友好氛围，“可能会让对方更愿意接受你的请求”。
六年前，英国为筹备脱欧曾寻求特朗普的支持；此次，英国则希望争取有利的贸易条款，并获得对抗俄罗斯在乌克兰军事行动的援助。
法尔说：“特朗普开启了新任期，英国也换了新首相、新政府，但焦虑感依旧。我们都清楚，对这位总统最有效的影响手段就是讨好他，并设法让他接触到真正能打动他的事物，比如君主制，还有他母亲出生在苏格兰这一事实。”
因此，在特朗普开启第二任期仅五周后的今年2月，英国首相基尔·斯塔默便紧急前往华盛顿，亲手将国王的国事访问邀请函交给特朗普。
这是首位外国领导人获此殊荣：第二次受邀进行国事访问，也是国王首次以私人信件形式发出邀请。特朗普还自豪地向电视台镜头展示了这封信。
特朗普在称赞国王时表示：“这是莫大的荣幸，而且是在温莎城堡（举办），这太了不起了。”
因白金汉宫正在维修，此次王室的接待活动将在温莎庄园英国举行
对于这位曾将椭圆形办公室装饰得金碧辉煌、还计划建造可容纳650人的白宫宴会厅的总统而言，此次访问的奢华元素可谓应有尽有。
特朗普总统与第一夫人梅拉尼娅·特朗普将于当地时间周二晚间抵达英国，而访问的核心环节将从次日正式开启。
在迎接特朗普夫妇后，查尔斯国王与卡米拉王后将陪同他们乘坐马车穿越温莎庄园，随后沿武装部队成员列队驻守的道路返回城堡。
这座城堡的雉堞城墙由征服者威廉于1070年下令始建。在城堡内，军乐队将先奏响英美两国国歌，随后查尔斯国王与特朗普将检阅身着猩红色制服、头戴高大熊皮帽的仪仗卫队。
经过数月排练，数百名军人将参与仪式环节，包括骑兵部队、步兵卫队与军乐手。
举枪致敬时，动作整齐划一，只闻一声脆响；踏步落地时，步伐协调一致，分毫不差。英国国歌《天佑国王》与美国国歌《星条旗永不落》也将演奏的音准完美。
据说《大宪章》珍贵版本曾在二战时被送到美国最大的金库暂时保管
五、彰显英美历史联结与特殊关系
欢迎仪式结束后，特朗普夫妇将参观一场文献与艺术品展览。该展览旨在彰显英美两国的共同历史。王室暂未透露展品细节，但对这两个国家而言，可选的展品数不胜数：两国拥有共同的法律与民主传统，其源头可追溯至1215年在兰尼米德签署的《大宪章》。其签署地距离温莎城堡仅数英里之遥。
为防止这部《大宪章》受损，当时的英国丘吉尔政府曾将其送到美国最大的地下金库短暂保存。
不过，此次访问的核心活动当属9月17日晚间的国宴：男士们将身着白色领结与燕尾服，女士们则会穿着名牌礼服，佩戴珠宝首饰，在古老烛台摇曳的烛光下，这些珠宝将熠熠生辉。
王室历史学家、已故菲利普亲王母亲的传记《爱丽丝》的作者雨果·维克斯表示：“（英国）王冠届时将隆重登场，整体场面必将华丽壮观。”
2019年英国女王为特朗普举行国宴的宴会厅
六、长度约为足球场一半的举行盛大国宴的餐桌
国王与王后将与宾客们围坐在巨大的“滑铁卢餐桌”旁。这张餐桌的长度约为足球场的一半，可容纳160人就座。光是布置餐桌就需要整整五天时间，餐具将采用“皇家盛典银器套装”，这套银鎏金餐具包含4000多件单品，从餐盘、餐碟到蛋杯，一应俱全。
维克斯表示，这些银器与仪式为和解铺平了道路，而伊丽莎白二世曾坚信，和解是解决哪怕最棘手问题的关键。
维克斯说：“英国首相基尔·斯塔默在某种程度上很聪明，他借助国王吸引特朗普总统来访，并让他度过愉快的时光。而且，在此时营造的浓厚善意氛围中，这是一个可以与特朗普沟通绝佳的机会。
斯塔默与特朗普的会谈将于周四举行，届时特朗普与斯塔默将在英国首相的乡间别墅契克斯庄园会面。
King Charles III to deploy tiara diplomacy as UK prepares to welcome Trump for second state visit. By DANICA KIRKA on AP from London, September 15, 2025.
Windsor Castle staff are setting the 50-meter-long (164-feet-long) mahogany table. Grooms are buffing the hooves of the horses that will pull the royal carriages. And the military honor guard is drilling to ensure every step lands with precision.
Throughout the halls and grounds of the almost 1,000-year-old castle west of London, hundreds of people are working to make sure King Charles III puts on the best show possible when he welcomes U.S. President Donald Trump for his historic second state visit this week.
The visit, featuring glittering tiaras, brass bands and a sumptuous banquet served on 200-year-old silver, is a display of the pomp and ceremony that Britain does like no one else. But it’s a spectacle with a purpose: to bolster ties with one of the world’s most powerful men at a time when his America First policies are roiling longstanding trade and security relationships.
“We’re buttering up to him,” said Robert Lacey, a royal historian and consultant on the Netflix series “The Crown.”
“He wouldn’t come to Britain if he wouldn’t have the chance to stay at Windsor Castle, probably pay homage to the (late) queen he admires so much, and to meet the king.”
Soft power in action
Three centuries after Britain’s kings and queens gave up political power and settled for the role of ceremonial head of state, the royals remain a robust instrument of “soft power,” which the elected government uses to reward friends and wring concessions out of reluctant allies.
State visits are the monarchy’s ultimate tool, with world leaders vying to get the full royal treatment.
During seven decades on the throne, the late Queen Elizabeth II hosted everyone from Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauşescu to South African President Nelson Mandela.
The royals have also hosted the last four U.S. presidents, though not all were full-scale state visits.
Hospitality with purpose
While the impact of soft power is hard to quantify, it contributes to a feeling of friendship that “may incline another party to be more open to your entreaties,” said Martin Farr, an expert in modern British history at Newcastle University.
Six years ago, Britain sought Trump’s support as it prepared to leave the European Union. This time the U.K. is lobbying for favorable trade terms and help in combating Russian aggression in Ukraine.
“A new Trump presidency, a new prime minister, a different government, but the same sense of panic and the same feeling that the biggest lever we can pull with this president is to flatter him and to try and connect him with something he seems genuinely to be impressed by, which is monarchy, and the fact that his mother of course was born” in Scotland, Farr said.
So Prime Minister Keir Starmer hurried to Washington in February, just five weeks after Trump began his second term, and handed him the king’s invitation for a state visit.
It was the first time any world leader received the honor of a second state visit, and the first time the invitation was delivered in a personal letter from the king, which Trump proudly displayed for TV cameras.
“It’s a great, great honor, and that says at Windsor,” Trump said as he praised the king. “That’s really something.”
Pomp and circumstance
There will be plenty of glitz for a president who has gilded the Oval Office and plans to build a White House ballroom for 650 guests.
While the president and first lady Melania Trump will arrive in the U.K. late Tuesday, the meat of the visit begins the next day.
After welcoming the Trumps, Charles and Queen Camilla will accompany them on a carriage ride through the Windsor estate, then back to the castle along a path lined by members of the armed forces.
Inside the crenellated walls of the castle, which William the Conqueror started building in 1070, a military band will play the national anthems of both countries before Charles and Trump review the guard of honor in scarlet tunics and tall bearskin hats.
Hundreds of military personnel will take part in the ceremonies — mounted troops, foot guards and musicians — after months of rehearsals.
When rifles are shouldered, it will come with a single thwack. When boots hit the ground, they will do so in unison. “God Save the King” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” will be note-perfect.
Highlighting history
After the welcoming ceremonies, the Trumps will view an exhibit of documents and artwork put together to highlight the shared history of Britain and the U.S. The palace hasn’t said what will be included, but the options are myriad for two countries with common legal and democratic traditions that stretch back to Magna Carta, the historic charter of rights signed in 1215 at Runnymede, just a few miles from Windsor.
But the centerpiece of the visit will be Wednesday night’s state banquet, where the men will don white ties and tail coats and the women will wear designer gowns and jewels that will sparkle in the flickering light from antique candelabra.
“The tiaras will be out in force,’’ said Hugo Vickers, a royal historian and author of “Alice,’' a biography of the late Prince Philip’s mother. “It will all look very splendid.’'
Dinner for many
The king and queen will join their guests around the massive Waterloo Table, which is about half the length of a football field and has space for 160 guests. It takes five full days to set the table, which will be laid with the Grand Service, a silver-gilt dining service that includes more than 4,000 pieces ranging from serving dishes to dinner plates and egg cups.
Vickers said the silver and ceremonies pave the way for conciliation, which Elizabeth believed was the way to solve even intractable problems.
“Keir Starmer has, cleverly in a way, used the king to lure President Trump over here, to give him a very good time,” he said. “And (it’s) a wonderful opportunity, with all the goodwill that will be engaged at this point, to talk to him … and if there’s any hope of sorting out Ukraine, etc. This is all a step in the right direction.”
Those discussions take place Thursday, when Trump and Starmer meet at Chequers, the country estate of British prime ministers.
来源：读行品世事一点号
