Trump Set For First UK State Visit In June

23 April 2019, 10:04 | Updated: 23 April 2019, 12:47

Buckingham Palace has confirmed that US President Donald Trump will visit the UK for a state visit between the 3rd and 5th of June.

Buckingham Palace said in a brief statement: "The President of the United States of America, President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by Mrs Melania Trump, has accepted an invitation from Her Majesty the Queen to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom from Monday 3rd June to Wednesday 5th June 2019."

This means Mr Trump will now experience the full pomp and ceremony of a UK state visit.

A Downing Street spokesperson said the "President and First Lady will make a State Visit to the UK on 3-5 June, as announced by Buckingham Palace this afternoon."

President Trump will be a guest of Her Majesty The Queen during the visit, and will also have discussions with the Prime Minister in Downing Street.

Theresa May said: “The State Visit is an opportunity to strengthen our already close relationship in areas such as trade, investment, security and defence, and to discuss how we can build on these ties in the years ahead.”

Protests are already planned for the President's visit. Shaista Aziz, from the Stop Trump coalition, said: "This demonstration isn't just about Trump as one man. He is a symbol of the new far right, a politics of Islamophobia and anti-semitism, of war and conflict, and walls and fences that are growing around the world."

Guardian columnist Owen Jones led protests in 2018 when the US President last visited the UK.

During a working visit to the UK in 2018 a huge police and security operation was mobilised which cost taxpayers almost £18m.

Sara Thornton, the chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, said Trump visited four force areas but there were protests in many others.

“Nearly every force supported the operation, with nearly 10,000 officers deployed from all over the country, performing over 26,000 shifts,” she said. “The full cost of the operation is still being worked out but an early estimate is nearly £18m.”

Theresa May extended the offer of a state visit to Mr Trump early in his presidency when she met the US leader for the first time in the White House in January 2017.

Trump's last visit largely avoided London due to the risk of protest but it's likely that the capital will be a key part of his June trip.

During an official state visit the Queen host, and visitors usually stay at either Buckingham Palace or Windsor Castle.

Buckingham Palace says that normally the Queen and other Members of the Royal Family greet visitors with a ceremonial welcome, which usually takes place on Horse Guards Parade.

The greeting is followed by a state banquet and a series of speeches and toasts.

For the remainder of the State Visit, which normally lasts a few days, the visitor will meet the British Prime Minister, Government ministers and leaders of the main political parties.