Donald Trump’s second state visit to the UK provides an opportunity to compare and contrast the visit he made six years ago, while Queen Elizabeth II was on the throne.

Although it’s unprecedented for a head of state to visit twice, Trump’s second visit, from Tuesday to Thursday, is consistent with royal protocol.

This dictates that a head of state can make one visit to the UK per monarch, so given that Charles III is now Britain’s head of state, the protocol allows for Trump to make a second visit.

Much has changed in the world and in the US President’s approach in the years since Trump’s first visit. From a British perspective, the aim will be to gloss over the differences between the two leaders and stress continuity in Britain-US relations.

This means underlining the historic relationship between Britain and the US, their common heritage, cultural and political traditions, and their shared values and international outlook. State visits are a pictorial narrative of symbolic connectivity, both cultural and political, a visible link to past visits and relationships.

To achieve this, the Trumps will visit St George’s Chapel at Windsor, inspect the guard of honour and be taken on a tour of the royal collection in Green Drawing Room of Windsor Castle, where they will be shown objects which relate to British and American shared history.

A joint flypast of British and American air force F-35 aircraft will symbolise both industrial and military collaboration as the embodiment of the “special relationship”. As with last time, the program has been choreographed to keep Trump a safe distance from protesters and politics.

This – as last time – will be the

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