Donald Trump loves a little bit of pomp and circumstance and there are few places better in the world to do that than London.
The president probably envisioned the start of his UK state to be greeted with thousands of adoring fans as his motorcade travelled down the Mall towards Buckingham Palace.
Unfortunately for Donald, that wasn't the case, as we can now estimate that tens of his loyal supporters turned out to wave at him and give the Trumps a warm welcome to the UK.
A holiday mood as tens of thousands of Londoners line the Mall to welcome President Trump on his way to Buckingham… https://t.co/yc5YfD278O— Mike Carlton (@Mike Carlton) 1559625777
The Mall full of flag waving crowds to greet Trump today ? Can’t wait to be in crowd demonstrating against him t… https://t.co/bT1CCgQ0Wt— Michael H. (@Michael H.) 1559598530
On my way to talk to @CNN about the #TrumpUKVisit and the police numbers as oppose to actual people walking down th… https://t.co/Anrfiil1mZ— Zoe Gardner (@Zoe Gardner) 1559635633
@byteme444 @realDonaldTrump This was my picture seconds after the #Trump convoy returned up The Mall from… https://t.co/YndR8jo0EQ— Dr. Mark Shanahan (@Dr. Mark Shanahan) 1559598454
Thank goodness for the crowd barriers. No one was trampled! https://t.co/bc7mQGss1Y— Victor Blackburn (@Victor Blackburn) 1559593472
The Mall’s rammed with people hoping to get a glimpse of Trump. https://t.co/ps1kA1F1Gb— Iain Gillie (@Iain Gillie) 1559579169
Those that did turn out were absolutely 'ecstatic'.
President Trump arrives at Clarence House on The Mall #POTUS #TrumpUKVisit https://t.co/0NZT7xm0uJ— Dan Johnson (@Dan Johnson) 1559574285
Even the police thought it was funny.
Me: “You lot look really busy. Were you expecting more people?” Police officer: “A few more.” Me: “It’s quite fun… https://t.co/WS0smwmRy5— Damon (@Damon) 1559572672
It should be noted that Trump did originally arrived at the palace on Monday morning via helicopter, but these pictures were from his return trip to the palace on Monday afternoon after visiting Westminster Abbey. And we can only imagine how he felt seeing all those faces staring back at him...
Although the turnout for Trump at the palace was something of a limp affair there is bound to be a much stronger contingent of people at the protests that are expected today as thousands are set to gather in central London to oppose the president's state visit.