US President Trump to make state visit to UK in June

The visit by Trump and his wife Melania will take place from June 3-5, Buckingham Palace said.

Trump London
A six-metre-high blimp flew over London last year during the US president's visit [File: Peter Nicholls/Reuters]

US President Donald Trump has accepted Queen Elizabeth’s invitation to make a state visit to Britain in June, Buckingham Palace said on Tuesday.

Trump and his wife, Melania, have “accepted an invitation from Her Majesty The Queen to pay a State Visit to the United Kingdom,” officials said.

The visit will take place from June 3 to 5, the palace said, adding that further details would be announced in due course.

In July last year, Trump visited the United Kingdom for the first time as president, though that was not a state visit, which typically features royal pomp including a banquet with the queen at Buckingham Palace.

The four-day trip was met with planned protests against his visit, where he met British Prime Minister Theresa May.

Tens of Thousands of people had rallied to protest Trump’s last visit in London last year, citing his alleged Islamophobia, controversial policies and “incendiary rhetoric” towards people with disabilities and the LGBTQ community.

A giant six-metre-high blimp of Trump depicted as an orange baby in nappies flew over the capital.

The blimp, which had been given permission by the capital’s city hall to be flown above parliament square gardens, raised 18,000 British pounds (almost $24,000) from crowdfunding sources.

The US president’s upcoming trip comes amid political turmoil.

Last month, Trump said Britain’s debate over leaving the European Union is “tearing the country apart”, and that he was “surprised at how badly” the negotiations have been handled.

Trump, who sees himself as a master deal-maker, said he gave advice to May but that she did not listen to him.

He said both sides are very “cemented in” and he called it a “tough situation” and a “shame”.

Source: News Agencies