How is Windsor preparing for Trump's visit?

US President Donald Trump will visit Windsor in September

US President Donald Trump has met UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at his Turnberry golf course on his visit to Scotland.

In just over a month, the President will be hosted by King Charles III in Windsor, Berkshire, as part of his second state visit.

Both visits include a major security operation - but what sort of planning goes into visits like this?

Preparation

Former Police Chief Tim Brain, who has handled plenty of visits like this before, told BBC Radio Berkshire that preparation for the visit would have started like many others - with a huge, detailed risk assessment.

"That is both in terms of security, general security, physical security, but also very basic things like traffic and health and safety that all have to go off very, very smoothly," he said.

Starmer presented an invitation from the King to Trump for second UK state visit during a meeting in the Oval Office in February

A planning team responsible for this would have been put in place as soon as the visit was announced, he said.

"All forces have got their own operations departments that are there to deal with major events," he said.

"Inside the force, the planning... would have started with getting the right people in place."

He said they would also put together "a large operational order" alongside the risk assessment.

"It will be many pages thick, that covers every aspect of this in terms of planning, location and timing," he said.

'Jigsaw' operation

Mr Brain said the security operation would involve coordinating both with the President's security teams, as well as protocols in place for the heads of state he was meeting.

"Any president of the United States is going to have a very, very high profile - this one perhaps more so than most - and of course they come with their own physical security teams," he said.

"The responsibility for the security of the President comes with the secret service of the United States, and they don't absolve themselves of that responsibility, so there will be very closely liaison between the secret service and the host force."

This combined with King Charles III's own security meant it had to be a "closely interlocked operation", he said.

"There'll just be so many jigsaw pieces in the puzzle that have to fit together and that's another one of them," he said.

Trump was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II for his first state visit in 2019

Protest planning

Another thing that needs to be considered as part of the plan is the possibility of protests taking place, like those that have taken place in Edinburgh, Mr Brain said.

"Many state visits will come with that element of it now, because even if a protest group has no connection with the principal involved, they may nevertheless take the opportunity that a high profile event like this creates," he said.

He said there was often an open dialogue between the police and protest organisers.

"There'll be liaison between the protest organisers and the police leads on this, so that they can have a plan about where they can stand, what they can say, what they can do, what they can show," he said.

"Trying to get the balance right between allowing peaceful protest, which is a right that we all have, and maintaining public order and safety will be a key dynamism in the operation."

Windsor Castle was chosen as the venue because Buckingham Palace continues to undergo renovations

Whilst a security operation like this would be a "challenge", Mr Brain said it was one that police officers would rise to.

"They will enjoy the opportunity to do something as big and as comprehensive as this," he said.

"This is going to be a buzz... it will be stressful, but that's what they're there for. "