A few hundred people gathered outside the BBC television network’s headquarters in London on Wednesday to protest against President Trump’s state visit to the U.K.

One woman, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, held a sign that showed Mr. Trump’s face and another that said: “The Statue of Taking Liberties.”

One man said even though Mr. Trump might not see the protest during his visit, his own conscience demanded that he come out in defiance anyway.

In 2018, it was estimated that over 100,000 people protested against Mr. Trump’s first state visit to the U.K., and demonstrators unfurled a large balloon depicting Mr. Trump as an orange baby.

Today, that large balloon is in a museum, but a number of the protesters were carrying miniature versions.

By Haley Ott and Ramy Inocencio

President Trump has not yet met with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer during his state visit.

The two leaders are set to see one another, however, at the state banquet at Windsor Castle, on Wednesday evening, The Guardian newspaper reported. 

The leaders will meet again on Thursday at Chequers, the prime minister’s country residence, where they’re expected to view the Winston Churchill archives held at Chequers and then hold a bilateral meeting.

Nvidia, Microsoft and Google were among the U.S. tech companies to announce major investments in the U.K. as part of a “Tech Prosperity Deal” to be announced during Mr. Trump’s second state visit to Britain, boosting ties in AI, civil nuclear energy and quantum computing, according to the Reuters new agency.

Nvidia said it was sending over 120,000 graphics processing units across the U.K., as well as working to deploy up to 60,000 Grace Blackwell Ultra chips to U.K.-based Nscale, which will partner with OpenAI and Microsoft to create the U.K.’s largest supercomputer, according to the Reuters news agency.

Microsoft said it would invest the equivalent of $30 billion in the U.K. for the supercomputer and to expand AI and cloud infrastructure in Britain, Reuters reported.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang will be participating in the state visit, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reported to also be attending. 

“This is the week that I declare that the U.K. will be an AI superpower,” Huang told the BBC in an interview broadcast on Wednesday. Huang, along with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who also spoke with the BBC on Wednesday, lauded Britain as one of the most promising environments for tech start-ups in the world.

The military ceremony at Windsor Castle to welcome President Trump on Wednesday is the largest one staged for a U.K. state visit in living memory, The Associated Press reported.

Some 1,300 members of the British Armed Forces and 120 horses were taking part in the ceremonial welcome in Windsor.

There will also be a joint U.S.-U.K. military flypast, which is the first to take place during a state visit, the AP said.

“The joint flypast by U.K. and US F-35 aircraft is a demonstration of the strength of the U.K.-U.S. defense and security relationship,” the U.K. defense ministry said, according to the AP.

The carriages are now arriving at Windsor Castle, where President Trump and the first lady will join King Charles and Queen Camilla on a dais, flanked by the Prince and Princess of Wales.

The U.S. and British national anthems are being played and a Guard of Honor will give a Royal Salute.

Mr. Trump and King Charles will inspect the Guard of Honor, then the King and Queen will lead Mr. Trump and the First Lady into the castle.

President Trump and the first lady Melania joined King Charles III, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales in a carriage procession to Windsor Castle.

The carriages will take the group through the Windsor estate. The first carriage will carry Mr. Trump and King Charles. The second will carry the first lady and Queen Camilla.

In the third carriage, Secretary of State Marco Rubio will travel with Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, and Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

A fourth carriage will transport other officials on Mr. Trump and the first lady’s teams.

As the procession began, the national anthems of both the U.S. and the U.K. were played by British military bands.

The route is lined by British military forces.

President Trump and first lady Melania arrived Wednesday at the British royal family’s sprawling Windsor estate, west of London, where they were greeted upon disembarking from the presidential Marine One helicopter by Prince William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrived at Windsor Castle by car on Wednesday, not long before President and first lady Trump were due to touch down on the grounds of the royal estate by helicopter. 

Rubio shook hands with staff before joining other officials to wait for Mr. Trump’s royal welcome. The British news agency PA said security in the area was at peak levels, with two sniper positions visible on a distant roof.

London’s Metropolitan Police said 1,600 officers would be deployed in central London on Wednesday, including 500 officers assisting from other forces, according to The Associated Press. At least 50 protest groups were expected to demonstrate against Mr. Trump’s visit.

Ahead of President Trump’s state visit to the U.K., London Mayor Sadiq Khan urged Britons to reject “the reactionary populists and nativists who are exploiting economic concerns, the atomisation of modern life and a growing distrust of political and media institutions — something we have seen in countries across Europe and, of course, in the U.S.”

In an opinion piece for The Guardian newspaper, Khan, who’s long been a vocal critic of Mr. Trump, said the U.S. president “and his coterie have perhaps done the most to fan the flames of divisive, far-right politics around the world in recent years.”

Khan said that six years after Mr. Trump’s first state visit, the Trump administration’s “scapegoating minorities, illegally deporting U.S. citizens, deploying the military to the streets of diverse cities… aren’t just inconsistent with Western values – they’re straight out of the autocrat’s playbook.”

Khan said that while he understood the U.K. government needed to be “pragmatic” and maintain ties with the U.S., “it’s also important to ensure our special relationship includes being open and honest with each other. At times, this means being a critical friend and speaking truth to power — and being clear that we reject the politics of fear and division. Showing President Trump why he must back Ukraine, not Putin. Making the case for taking the climate emergency seriously. Urging the president to stop the tariff wars that are tearing global trade apart. And putting pressure on him to do much more to end Israel’s horrific onslaught on Gaza, as only he has the power to bring Israel’s brazen and repeated violations of international law to an end.”

President Trump and the first lady will be flown Wednesday by helicopter roughly 20 miles from central London, where they spent the first night of their visit at the U.S. ambassador’s official residence, Winfield House, to Windsor Castle, in time for lunch. After being greeted by the future king, Prince William, and his wife Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, they will join King Charles III and Queen Camilla for lunch.

Later in the day Mr. Trump will lay a wreath at the crypt of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who died in Sept. 2022, before attending a musical performance and honorary military flyover at Windsor.

The night will be capped by a formal state banquet, hosted by the monarch.

The protest group Led By Donkeys projected an enormous video onto the walls of Windsor Castle Tuesday night, hours before President Trump was due to arrive at the royal residence, depicting what it called “the story of Trump and Epstein.” A video shared by the group on social media included the narration, carried over loudspeakers in Windsor, detailing Mr. Trump’s previous ties to the late financier and convicted sex offender.

The Thames Valley Police confirmed in a statement that four people were arrested in connection with the demonstration.

“We take any unauthorized activity around Windsor Castle extremely seriously,” the force said in a statement. “Our officers responded swiftly to stop the projection and four people have been arrested. We are conducting a thorough investigation with our partners into the circumstances surrounding this incident and will provide further updates when we are in a position to do so.”

President Trump landed at London’s Stansted Airport on Tuesday evening for his second state visit to the U.K. The President made his way to the official central London residence of the U.S. Ambassador to the U.K., called Winfield House, where he was asked by journalists how it felt to be back.

“I love it. I love Turnberry, I love Aberdeen, I love a lot of things here… they warm my heart, I want to tell you. They’re very special,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump has golf courses near Turnberry and Aberdeen in Scotland, which is part of the United Kingdom.

When asked if he had a message for King Charles III, Mr. Trump said: “We’re going to see him tomorrow, and he’s been a friend of mine for a long time. And everybody respects him and they love him.”