Donald Trump will be received with great fanfare in the United Kingdom at the invitation of King Charles III from September 17 to 19 for a second state visit after that of 2019, unheard of for an American president.
He will be accompanied by his wife Melania, said Buckingham Palace in a short press release on Monday, adding that Mr. Trump, a great admirer of the royal family, would be received at the castle of Windsor, west of London.
Trump is very unpopular in the United Kingdom, 16% of favorable opinions and 70% of unfavorable opinions, according to a recent Yougov survey, and security measures promise to be draconian.
The king’s invitation was made public on February 27, when British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had given the US President, in the oval office of the White House, a letter from the monarch, in front of the television cameras.
Donald Trump, delighted with this “great honor”, had let the contents see it, welcoming in Charles III a “wonderful man”.
The invitation specified neither date nor place, and evoked a first informal meeting in Scotland, at the Château de Balmoral or the Domaine de Dumfries House, a prestigious abode of the 18th century, before a state visit to a later date.
In the oval office, Donald Trump immediately mentioned Windsor.
According to the daily The Times, the British Prime Minister would have forced the king’s hand to “capitalize on the worshipers of the American president for the royal pump”. The palace had reservations due to Trump’s threats to annex Canada, of which Charles III is head of state.
State visits are organized on the government’s recommendation.
Keir Starmer will also meet Donald Trump during a private visit by the end of July in Scotland, where the latter has two golf complexes, Downing Street announced on Monday.
Two months after Macron
In September, President Trump’s state visit will take place two months after that of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte, received from July 8 to 10, also in Windsor, because the Buckingham Palace is under construction.
They were entitled to a reception with honor custody, a carriage tower, review of the troops in the courtyard of the castle, and state dinner with some 150 guests, in accordance with the usual script of state visits.
This privilege is rare, the palace organizes on average two state visits per year. They require up to a year of preparation.
During his state visit, Mr. Macron spoke in front of the two rooms of the Parliament, insisting in particular on the importance of the Franco-British relationship, Ukraine and Gaza.
The royal couple and the Macron couple multiplied the gestures of friendship during this visit, organized two years after the state visit of the King and Queen Camilla in France in September 2023.
The House of Commons will not sit during Mr. Trump’s visit, due to the annual parties of the parties. What relieve certain deputies who had already made it known that they did not want to see Donald Trump.
The House of Lords will be active.
No American president has never been invited for a second state visit, even in the event of re -election. The use is that they are invited by the monarch for a tea or a lunch in Windsor, during their second term. This had been the case for Barack Obama or George W. Bush.
But Donald Trump is particularly admiring the royal family, as was his mother, born on the island of Lewis in Scotland and who had emigrated to the United States in 1930.
During his first state visit from June 3 to 5, 2019, Donald Trump was received by Queen Elisabeth II at the Buckingham Palace.
He still met her at the Château de Windsor in June 2021, when he had come for a G7 summit, and attended the funeral of the sovereign on September 19, 2022.
He also spoke with Prince William in Paris, on the occasion of the reopening of Notre-Dame last December. The latter “does a fantastic job»then said Donald Trump adding that the crown prince was “very beautiful”.
