The contrast couldn't have been greater between the welcome that was given to Volodymyr Zelensky in London by the British government, on Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, and the brutal humiliation that Donald Trump and his vice president, JD Vance, inflicted on the Ukrainian leader in the Oval Office in Washington, 24 hours earlier. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer embraced the slighted leader as he arrived at Downing Street on Saturday. The following evening, Zelensky had the honor of a meeting with King Charles. The king received him directly after the European summit, at his residence in Sandringham, Norfolk.

The Ukrainian president had previously been hosted at Buckingham Palace in 2023. Sunday evening's royal audience was symbolic and highly significant: The British government is well aware of Trump's fascination with the royal family, and wanted to honor Zelensky as much as him – Starmer presented the American president with a letter of invitation from the king to Balmoral, Scotland, during their White House meeting on February 27, to discuss a second state visit by Trump, after the one in 2019.

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