Rupert Murdoch a surprise guest at UK state banquet for Trump

Rupert Murdoch has emerged for the first time publicly since the conclusion of his family succession drama last week, dining with King Charles III and US President Donald Trump at Windsor Castle.

The 94-year-old was pictured alongside his fifth wife, Elena Zhukova, appearing to be holding a walking cane in St George’s Hall where the state banquet was held.

Murdoch was a surprise invite to the special event: the president has launched a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the News Corp emeritus chair.

Equally, King Charles’ sons have a storied history with Murdoch, both settling a lawsuit in 2020 over the News of the World phone-hacking scandal. Prince William was in attendance and greeted Trump; Harry was not.

Earlier this year, Harry won “substantial damages” from News Corp’s British tabloid, The Sun, in an agreement which included an apology to the Duke of Sussex for its tactics used to spy on his private life between 1996 and 2011.

Murdoch was one of 160 guests invited to the special dinner in honour of Trump, viewed as a gushing act of diplomacy and flattery to help British-American relations, secure a better trade deal and maintain support of Ukraine in its war against Russia.

Murdoch was strategically seated beside British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s top aide, Morgan McSweeney. Apple chief executive Tim Cook was seated beside Trump’s daughter, Tiffany Trump.

Trump himself sat between the King and the Princess of Wales, Catherine. Other guests on a private-sector-heavy list included OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Jensen Huang, the chief executive of Nvidia.

Last week, Murdoch and his eldest son, Lachlan, finalised the more than three decades-long drama over who would succeed him in leading the family empire. Lachlan’s three siblings from Murdoch snr’s first two marriages, Prudence, James and Elisabeth, were paid $US1.1 billion ($1.65 billion) each to cut ties with the family trust, which held their interests in the suite of assets which included News Corp and Fox Corp. This move secured Lachlan as the sole heir, and controller of the family empire.

Now, with that fight in the rearview mirror, the Trump lawsuit is the next personal challenge. In July, Trump sued Murdoch, News Corp and The Wall Street Journal over a story reporting an alleged “bawdy” letter sent by the president to Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump is seeking $US10 billion in damages, and had initially sought to expedite Murdoch’s examination, due to his advanced age.

The menu for the state banquet featured Hampshire watercress panna cotta, organic Norfolk chicken ballotine, and vanilla ice-cream bombe with Kentish raspberry sorbet interior. There was also a pricey wine list, and despite Trump not drinking alcohol, there was a 1945 vintage port for after-dinner drinks in honour of the 45th president, and a 1912 cognac – the year of his mother’s birth, the BBC reported.

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