LONDON (Reuters) – King Charles will host U.S. President Donald Trump for his unprecedented second state visit to Britain later this year, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Wednesday.
Trump accepted an invitation from Charles for a second state visit in February, making the U.S. president the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.
“Your country is a fantastic country and it’ll be our honour to be there,” Trump said after Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed him a handwritten letter from Charles in the Oval Office, describing the king as “a beautiful man”.
No date was set at the time for the event which Britain hopes will help cement close ties between the two allies at a time of global upheaval, and one that is always marked by lavish displays of pomp and pageantry.
“His majesty has known President Trump for many years and looks forward to hosting him and the First Lady later this year,” a Palace aide said.
Last week, the “Manu Regia”, an official signed invitation from the monarch which signals the start of formal planning, was hand-delivered to the White House by British representatives, with confirmation of the exact date for the trip to follow.
Initially there were expectations that Trump would first come to Britain for a short trip where he would meet the king for a private meeting, ahead of the formal state visit.
But it had proved impossible to find a suitable date in their diaries over the summer so planning for the state visit has begun instead, a Palace source said.
British state visits usually include a carriage ride through central London and a lavish state banquet, but it is not clear yet where Trump will be hosted.
The late Queen Elizabeth welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace for a three-day state visit in June 2019 during his first term in office, during which he had a private lunch with the sovereign, as well as having tea with Charles, who was then heir.
That visit already put Trump in a select group of U.S. presidents, as only Barack Obama and George W. Bush were afforded official state visits to Britain during Elizabeth’s record 70 years on the throne.
Trump was also invited to tea at Windsor Castle, the monarch’s home to the west of London during a trip to Britain in 2018.
Both his visits to Britain also attracted large protests, with his 2018 trip costing police more than 14 million pounds as 10,000 officers were deployed from all over Britain.
(Reporting by Michael Holden, writing by Sarah Young, editing by Kate Holton and Aidan Lewis)
