Melania Trump has curated an extravagant White House banquet for King Charles III and Queen Camilla- as Donald Trump was reportedly warned not to offer his trademark fast food favourites during the high-profile visit.
According to The Sun, the First Lady, 56, personally selected a four-course menu, paired with premium American wines, for Tuesday evening’s state dinner celebrating the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Guests were treated to an elegant spread beginning with a garden vegetable velouté, served with hearts of palm, toasted shallots and micro mint.
The second course featured spring herbed ravioli filled with creamy ricotta and morels, with herbs sourced directly from the White House kitchen garden.
For the main event, attendees- including Rory McIlroy, Jeff Bezos and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook- were served Dover sole meunière, prepared in brown butter and accompanied by potato pavé, spring ramps, snow peas and parsley oil.
Dessert took a theatrical turn, with a beehive-shaped chocolate gâteau filled with vanilla bean crémeux and almond sponge, served alongside crème fraîche ice cream and honey produced on the White House grounds.
Three American wines were chosen to complement the meal, including a Hopkins Riesling “Heritage” 2024 and a Penner-Ash Pinot Noir from Oregon’s Willamette Valley.
But while the menu leaned heavily into refined, seasonal produce, sources claim there was a firm directive behind the scenes: no fast food.
A source familiar with planning discussions said the President was “warned” not to offer the royals McDonald’s, a staple of his own diet, out of respect for the 77-year-old monarch’s long-standing views on clean eating and sustainability.
“There was a clear directive behind the scenes that fast food should not feature in any part of the King’s itinerary- it would be seen as entirely out of step with his values,” the source told Radar Online.
“Trump was repeatedly told not to even jokingly offer it to Charles. The contrast between the president’s personal tastes and the King’s dietary principles is so pronounced that it required careful handling.”
The source added: “Trump’s love of fast food is well known, and in other contexts it has even been used as a symbol of his approachability, but in this setting advisers were keen to avoid anything that could be perceived as insensitive or discordant.”
King Charles, who is still receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, has long spoken out about processed foods and their impact on public health.
During a 2007 visit to a diabetes centre in Abu Dhabi, he famously asked a nutritionist: “Have you got anywhere with McDonald’s? Have you tried getting it banned? That is the key.”
In contrast, 79-year-old Trump has repeatedly embraced fast food culture.
Just weeks ago he was spotted accepting a delivery of cheeseburgers to the Oval Office via DoorDash, marking the anniversary of his “no tax on tips” policy.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, he also served fries at a McDonald’s outlet in Pennsylvania before climbing into a campaign-branded garbage truck while wearing a safety vest.
The President has previously hosted fast food feasts at the White House, including in 2019 when he served a buffet of hundreds of burgers and fries to the Clemson University football team celebrating their national championship.
However, insiders say this visit called for a different approach: “Food may seem like a minor detail, but it carries symbolic weight in diplomacy,” a second source said.
Thus, to honour their British guests, the White House itself was transformed to reflect a classic English garden, complete with towering trees, lilac displays and cherry blossoms for the banquet.
Tables were dressed in green pleated linens and adorned with seasonal blooms, including lily of the valley, butterfly ranunculus and phlox.
Entertainment was provided by American military musicians, including “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band, alongside Army and Air Force choirs, strings and trumpet players.
Earlier in the evening, the President and First Lady posed for photographs with the King and Queen outside the White House.
Trump and Charles both wore white tie, while Melania and Camilla opted for pink ensembles.
The Queen skipped a tiara but wore a historic amethyst and diamond necklace passed down through the royal family, paired with a pink Fiona Clare gown.
Melania, meanwhile, wore a strapless Christian Dior Haute Couture gown with off-white suede gloves.
King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Washington on Monday, April 27, where they were welcomed with a private tea and garden reception.
Their broader US tour, which also includes stops in New York City and Virginia, marks the 250th anniversary of American independence from the United Kingdom.
