Trump accepts Queen's invitation for state visit in June


Trump visited the U.K. last summer, but it wasn't a state visit

U.S. President Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth inspect the Coldstream Guards during a visit to Windsor Castle on July 13. Trump and his wife Melania have accepted the Queen's invitation for a state visit in June. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuter)


The palace said Trump and his wife, Melania, had accepted the invitation from the Queen for the June 3-5 visit. Though many other presidents have visited the monarch, only George W. Bush and Barack Obama were honoured with a state visit, which typically features royal pomp, including a banquet with the Queen at Buckingham Palace.


Prime Minister Theresa May extended the invitation for a state visit soon after Trump's inauguration in January 2017, but the trip has been deferred amid concerns about the president's reception in the U.K. and Britain's extended crisis over Brexit.

Trump finally made an official trip to the U.K. last summer, but it wasn't a state visit. Demonstrators followed him everywhere nonetheless, with tens of thousands flooding the streets of central London to protest his presence and a six-metre balloon depicting the U.S. president as a screaming baby flown near Parliament.

In addition to meeting with the Queen, Trump will also sit down with May. The U.S. president has repeatedly criticized May for her handling of Brexit. It has not been announced whether he will address Parliament, an honour granted to presidents including Ronald Reagan and Obama.

May said in a statement that Britain and the United States "have a deep and enduring partnership that is rooted in our common history and shared interests.


Scheduled to attend D-Day ceremony

Trump and his wife also plan to attend a ceremony in the naval city of Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings on the final day of his visit, the White House said.



While in France, Trump will also meet separately with Macron.


