July 14 (UPI) — U.S. President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain will take place Sept. 17 through Sept. 19 at Windsor Castle where King Charles III will host him and First Lady Melania Trump, Buckingham Palace announced Monday.
Buckingham Palace said Trump had formerly accepted the invitation, six years on from his first state visit when he was the guest of the late Queen Elizabeth II in June 2019. The visit is unprecedented because Trump will become the first U.S. president to receive the honor twice — second-term presidents traditionally receive a tea or lunch invitation.
Itinerary details remain pending but will comprise a packed schedule of events — including a full ceremonial welcome and a state banquet in the castle’s Saint George’s Hall — with all senior members of the royal family involved, including Prince William and Kate, said the palace.
Trump and the first lady will spend two nights at Windsor Castle. The location was moved from the customary Buckingham Palace due to renovations that are underway at the king’s official residence.
Trump, who has hereditary roots in Scotland, is known to be a fan of Britain, and in particular the royal family and all the associated pomp and grand ceremonies.
British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson said Trump could expect a warm welcome.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really does love Britain. He hugely admires it,” said Mandelson.
“He trusts [British Prime Minister] Keir Starmer. It’s not a question of expressing our gratitude. My lodestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophancy. I don’t think the administration has any problem with that.”
However, the timing sidesteps the issue of the traditional address given to parliament by visiting heads of state, as Trump will arrive a day after the legislature rises for the month-long ‘conference” recess, when political parties hold their annual conventions.
A group of 20 MPs signed a motion back in April calling on the speakers of both the House of Commons and the House of Lords not to allow Trump to officially address either chamber, saying his “misogynism, racism and xenophobia, comments on women, refugees and torture” made it inappropriate.
The motion noted “several concerns on his comments about the U.K., parliamentary democracy, the Middle East and equalities; expresses concern about his conduct around Ukraine; believes it would be inappropriate for President Trump to address Parliament.”
Of the lawmakers who backed the motion, 15 belong to Starmer’s ruling Labour Party.
The stance of parliamentarians contrasts with the optics surrounding French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit last week, during which he addressed a packed joint session of parliament and laid a wreath at the tomb of the unknown soldier in Westminster Abbey.
The king initially extended the royal invite to Trump in February in a letter that Starmer brought with him on a visit to Washington to meet with Trump in the White House, which the president accepted on the spot.
During his last visit in 2019, mass street protests forced the cancellation of a procession down the mall leading to Buckingham Palace for security reasons and he traveled between events by helicopter, instead of by road.
He also became embroiled in a social media spat with the mayor of London and appeared to breach royal protocol by walking ahead of the queen.
