Donald Trump's first official state visit to the UK set for June 3
President Donald Trump is set to make his first official state visit to the United Kingdom in June.
The Buckingham Palace has announced that the US leader will be making a three-day official visit starting June 3 to June 5. The president and First Lady Melania Trump will be a guest of the Queen and attend a ceremony in Portsmouth to mark the 75th Anniversary of D-Day. Trump is also expected to hold talks with the prime minister at Downing Street.
The last time Trump visited the UK was in 2018 when it was billed as a working visit, rather than a state occasion, CNN reports.
BBC North America Editor Jon Sopel tweeted: "I understand that the White House will announce in next 48 hours that Donald Trump will make a state visit to the UK in June."
Now, more than two years after PM Theresa May extended an invitation following his inauguration, Trump will formally visit the state of Britain.
After being delayed several times, Trump's four-day visit last year was met with large protests in London and throughout the country. During the visit, which took place after several delays, Trump was met with overwhelming support as well as radical protests in London.
The anti -Trump demonstrations featured a 20-foot "Trump Baby" blimp that was flown outside the Parliament. In response, pro-Trump activists flew a 29ft balloon depicting London mayor Sadiq Khan scowling in a bikini over the capital.
At the time, Trump met with Prime Minister May and had tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle.
Trump is expected to be welcomed with pomp and ceremony, including a carriage procession, and a banquet with the Queen and other members of the royal family at Buckingham Palace. The state visit is expected to be confirmed on Tuesday, per sources.
Defense Minister Tobias Ellwood said last week that Trump should be allowed to address MPs in the House of Commons in order to ensure the "special relationship" between the UK and the US is preserved. “It is greater than any one individual, however controversial," he noted.
Nonetheless, there was considerable outrage across the Labour party over reports of the imminent announcement.
MP David Lammy tweeted: "Deluded, dishonest, xenophobic, narcissistic, Donald Trump is no friend of Britain. He is not fit to hold public office, let alone worthy of our country's highest honors and a banquet with the Queen."
Trump is the third sitting president to be treated to an official UK state visit during Queen Elizabeth II's reign, following predecessors George W Bush and Barack Obama.