PA Media
The Princess of Wales and First Lady Melania Trump have hosted Scouts in the grounds of Windsor Castle during the final morning of Donald Trump’s state visit.
Catherine organised a special packed lunch for the children, aged four to five, which contained sandwiches made with honey from her Norfolk home.
Mrs Trump’s visit to the Scouts came after she joined Queen Camilla on a tour of Windsor Castle’s royal library and to see the Queen Mary’s Dolls House – before inspecting some of the miniatures made especially for the world’s largest dollhouse.
At the same time, the US president travelled to Chequers, the prime minister’s grace-and-favour residence in Buckinghamshire, for diplomatic talks.
The 20 Squirrel Scouts had been taking part in nature activities within the gardens of Frogmore House to earn their Go Wild badges.
Chief Scout Dwayne Fields told the BBC he chatted throughout the event with the First Lady and Princess of Wales.
“It was a great morning for all involved, particularly for the young people involved,” he said. “The setting was grand and in all fairness the two guests we had were very special.”
Mr Fields said Melania and Kate were both “very personable” and spent a lot of time with the young people who took part in drawing and other activities.
“Having the princess there, our joint president, alongside the first lady of the United States, is going to be something very special for them in years to come when they understand the true magnitude of what has just happened,” he added.
“I think it is really important to say they both strongly believe in what we do within the scouts movement and this was a great opportunity for us here, the spiritual home of the Scouts where it all began, to showcase scouting to the US.”
Earlier, during their perusal of Windsor Castle’s attractions, the Queen and the first lady shared a smile and a chuckle as they inspected some of the tiny books, including The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson and A Recipe Fit for a Queen by the Queen’s son, Tom Parker Bowles.
The Queen and Melania Trump inspect the Dolls’ House at Windsor Castle
Many of the books – such as Dame Jacqueline Wilson’s The House Mouse and Music for a Dolls’ House – were made for the 100th anniversary of Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House.
The Queen, an avid advocate of children’s literature, also showed some of Windsor’s full-size books and historical prints.
While the two toured the royal library, schoolchildren created their own miniature books with colouring pencils.
Designed by British architect Sir Edwin Lutyens in the 1920s, the Queen Mary Doll’s House is perhaps the most famous of its kind in the world, boasting a fully stocked wine cellar, working lifts, electricity and even running water.
The scale replica of an Edwardian residence was built for King George V’s consort as a gift from the nation after World War One.
At the time, it took more than 1,500 leading artists and craftspeople, including Faberge and Cartier, who worked for three years to complete the project.
Other miniature marvels inside the structure include a tiny grand piano, the Crown Jewels and a 1920s-era vacuum cleaner.
Since 1925, it has sat in Windsor Castle, in a room Sir Edwin also designed, attracting around half a million visitors each year.
Royal Collection Trust/His Majesty King Charles III 2024
After spending time with the Princess of Wales, the first lady joined her husband at Chequers; from there after diplomatic talks they will both return to Air Force One for their departure back to the US.
The events cap off a two-day state visit that has included expansive displays of pageantry and a lavish banquet in which King Charles and Trump both remarked on the close relationship between the UK and US.
The US president’s unprecedented second state visit was accompanied by the announcement of US technology firm investments in the UK potentially worth up to £150bn.
Trump’s visit to Chequers will conclude with a news conference, in which topics – including state recognition for Palestine and the sacking of the UK’s ambassador to the US over his relationship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – are likely to be raised.