Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free
Your guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the world
Donald Trump’s second state visit to Britain will take place from September 17-19, Buckingham Palace has announced, in a programme that is likely to largely shield the US president from public and political protest.
Trump will be hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, just outside London and away from potentially hostile crowds that would more easily gather had he stayed in the centre of the capital at Buckingham Palace, which is being refurbished.
The US president will not address both houses of parliament during his visit, avoiding the possibility of political protests at Westminster. Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan are among those who have addressed MPs and peers.
The House of Commons will not be sitting during his visit because it will be in recess for the UK political party conference season, meaning such an address was not possible. Some Labour MPs and peers had said Trump should not be invited to give a speech at Westminster.
Trump will become the first US president to undertake two state visits. On his previous visit in 2019, the then Speaker of the Commons John Bercow made it clear he would not be welcome to address parliament. Bercow had said an address was “not an automatic right, it’s an earned honour”.
Lord Kim Darroch, Britain’s ambassador to Washington at the time of Trump’s last visit, said the US president’s team expressed no interest in him addressing parliament during lengthy discussions about the arrangements for the first state visit.
The former ambassador said Trump’s team was warned about the possibility of demonstrations and was told of the intention of Buckingham Palace and Downing Street to run a tight programme with limited interaction with the British public.
“They were quite happy with that,” Darroch told the Financial Times. “They didn’t say he wanted to meet his adoring British public.
“The last time the White House was cautious about the visit. They were always sensitive to the prospect of embarrassment or hostile crowds or low turnout. We were worried about protesters with their giant Trump-shaped balloon.”
Trump will attend a state banquet at Windsor Castle and hold talks with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer during the visit, people briefed on the trip said. Buckingham Palace said First Lady Melania Trump would also attend.
Starmer presented Trump with a letter from the King extending a state visit in February, during the prime minister’s meeting with the US president in the White House. Trump’s love of Britain’s royal family is seen as a key diplomatic asset in London.
As the pair sat next to each other in the Oval Office, Starmer handed the president the personal invitation, later saying “this is truly historic and unprecedented”. Trump said it was a “great, great honour”, adding “Windsor — that’s really something”.
The US president is also expected to travel in the next few weeks to Scotland, where he has several golf courses, on a “semi-private visit”, but an earlier plan for him to meet King Charles on that trip has not materialised.
The King had suggested in his letter to Trump that he and the president might meet at Balmoral or Dumfries House in Scotland first before the much grander state visit.
However royal officials have said there were logistical challenges surrounding an informal visit, with complexities in both the King’s and Trump’s diaries.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Additional reporting by Joe Miller in Washington
Credit: Source link
